Come Clean
by pleasedontstoptherainxx
Summary: Brennan wasn't sure if she'd ever cried as hard as she did that night, but when the tears subsided, sadness was replaced with a new emotion. Anger. Alternate ending to 6x09 "Doctor in the Photo".
1. Come Clean

**A/N: Okay, so this was originally going to be a oneshot to go into my series based off of songs, but then I decided to make it separate, because I decided to make it a two shot instead of a one shot. So, please, please, tell me what you think, because, for some reason, I'm a little nervous to post this one. I don't think it came out terrible, but what do I know. xD And this isn't a songfic, but it's based off the song 'Come Clean' by Hilary Duff. (Old, I know, but it sparked my muse xD)**

"Come Clean"

A **Two**-shot by: pleasedontstoptherainxx

**Description:** Alternate ending to 6x09. Brennan wasn't sure if she'd ever cried as hard as she did that night, but when the tears subsided, sadness was replaced with a new emotion. Anger.

**Rating**: T+

**Spoilers: **6x09 "Doctor in the Photo"

_**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Bones or anything associated with it, nor do I own the song Come Clean. I'm not getting paid for any of this. Trust me. xD**_

**

* * *

**"_Let the rain fall down and wake my dreams_

_Let it wash away my sanity_

'_Cause I want to feel the thunder, I want to scream_

_Let the rain fall down_

_I'm coming clean."_

-"Come Clean" by Hilary Duff

* * *

_She never gave him a chance, that was her regret._

Booth was silent when she spoke the words, unable to process what she was saying at the moment. But then, it finally clicked. What she was talking about.

_I got the signal, Booth. I don't want to have any regrets. _

He felt his heart drop into his stomach, having to force himself to focus on the road. She was talking about him. But what the hell was he supposed to say? Thanks but no thanks? This was Temperance Brennan. This was _his_ Bones. The woman who, only a few months ago, possessed his every thought. The woman who, when he first woke up from his coma, was the only reason he wanted to get out of bed in the morning.

"Um, I'm with someone, Bones," he could hardly get the words out, especially when he looked over to see the look of complete heartache on her face, "and, Hannah. She's not a consolation prize. I love her."

And, then, she did it. The one thing he was praying she wouldn't do. She started to sob, harder than he thought she was capable of. Brennan felt as if her heart had just been shattered into a million pieces, feeling an unfamiliar ache in her chest as tears rolled freely down her cheeks, not showing any signs of stopping anytime soon.

"The last thing I want to do is hurt you," Booth said quietly, trying his hardest to let her down as gently as possible, "but those are the facts."

Brennan wasn't sure if she'd ever cried as hard as she did that night, but when the tears subsided, sadness was replaced by a new emotion. Anger.

"Bullshit," she murmured, barely aware that the words were coming out of her own mouth, until she raised her voice so it was just slightly louder than the mumble she was just speaking in, "that's bullshit and you know it."

"That I love Hannah?" He asked.

"No, I know you love Hannah," she assured him, "but you're lying when you say the last thing you want to do is hurt me, because that's exactly what you're doing."

"Well I don't know what you want me to say, Bones," he whispered, feeling slightly empathetic, even though she was accusing him of trying to hurt her, which she and he both knew, he would never do, "I'm trying to do this as nicely as possible."

"You're trying to get back at me for rejecting you that night outside the Hoover building," she accused, raising her voice a little more, "you're enjoying this. You want me to feel how you felt that night. And it's working."

Booth grew highly annoyed at the accusation, the mention of that night sending shivers down his spine. He'd tried to forget about that night, and here she was, not only throwing it in his face, but accusing him of trying to inflict the same type of pain on her that she did to him. That type of emotion pain was the kind he would never even wish on his worst enemy.

"No, this is your way of trying to detach," he told her, informing her of her own intentions, "you can't deal with the fact that I'm saying no, so you're looking for a way to twist this around and make it look like I'm doing something terrible. When in reality, all I'm doing is being honest with you. I'm not going to just drop everything and break up with Hannah because you asked me to. Because, I have news for you, Temperance. The world doesn't revolve around you."

Brennan winced subconsciously at his words, crossing her arms defensively over her chest.

"Don't talk to me," she murmured, "do me a favor and don't speak to me for the rest of the ride."

"I thought you'd never ask," he mumbled, staying quiet for the rest of the short ride.

Booth stayed quiet as she asked, but, the whole time, wanted to apologize for his 'the world doesn't revolve around you' comment. He knew for a fact that their whole argument was just a way for both of them to try and push this whole admittance of her feelings aside, and pretend it didn't happen. He would never say it out loud, but the whole reason he took that cheap shot at her was to help her detach, because he knew breaking her heart by telling her he didn't want to be with her would be ten times worse than just hurting her feelings by saying she was self centered.

The rain was pelting the SUV when he pulled up in front of her apartment, putting the car in park as they both stared out at the rain, watching the windshield wipers swipe profusely at the streams of water blocking their view. After a few seconds of just sitting in the still car in silence Booth spoke.

"Look, do you want me to get someone to stay with you?" Booth asked, thoughtfully.

Brennan turned her head slightly to look at him, her make up smudged under her eyes, from a mixture of the rain and her tears.

"Are you serious?" She asked, bitterly.

"Bones, I'm just trying to help," he felt defeated as he looked at her, her eyes seeming to pierce right through him, a disgusted expression on her face, "you know, maybe we just shouldn't be partners anymore. This obviously isn't going to work."

"You're going to give up six years of a partnership for some woman you met in Afghanistan?" She snapped, turning all the way, so she was facing him fully.

"All you're doing is yelling at me when I'm trying to help," he snapped back at her, "and Hannah is not just 'some woman'. I love her, Temperance. I know that's hard for you to accept, but it's the truth."

"You've known her for practically five minutes and you care for her more than you do for me," she uncharacteristically used the hyperbole, "you're unbelievable."

"You know you mean the world to me, Temperance. I would kill for you. I would die for you. But I'm not in love with you, I'm in love with Hannah."

"That's not the way it's supposed to be!" She shouted, feeling the tears spring back into her eyes for the second time that night, "You're not supposed to love her, you're supposed to-"

"Love_ you_?" He interrupted, "Are you really that self centered?"

"I never said that," she wiped a stray tear that escaped against her will.

"You were going to," he accused, "I'm sorry, Bones, but I don't love you. I just, I don't."

Brennan popped the lock on her door, pulling it open, the first sound she noticed being the rain pounding relentlessly against the pavement.

"Fine, go to Hacker and tell him you want our partnership severed," she said quietly, but loud enough to be heard over the rain, "I'm done, Booth. I give up. You're getting what you want. You want me gone? Fine. You don't ever have to see me again. Don't speak to me, don't call me, don't come to the lab looking for me. Just go home to Hannah and forget about me."

"Bones," Booth opened the driver's side door and hopped out of the car, "Bones, wait, hold on," he called to her.

Brennan turned around to face him.

"What?" She asked, hopelessly, "what the hell do you want from me, Seeley?"

The fact that she'd actually used his first name was an indication that she was over it. He was no longer her best friend Booth, he was just Seeley. Seeley. Who he was to everyone else in the world. Everyone who was indifferent to him.

"You know I didn't mean it about getting our partnership severed," he told her, jogging the short distance around the car to catch up with her.

"Could have fooled me," she murmured.

"Bones, you're my partner, you always will be," he stayed quiet as she tilted her head to look up at the sky, letting the rain pelt her face, "please, don't do this, Temperance. I don't want to fight with you," he couldn't tell she was crying at first, since the rain was masking her tears, but was only able to tell when her shoulders shook with silent sobs, "you're breaking my heart, baby."

The term of endearment made her heart flutter, even though she knew it was only a slip of the tongue, and meant absolutely nothing.

"I can't do this," she sobbed, feeling her partners hand grasp her soaking wet shoulders. She tilted her head back down to look him in the eyes, "I-I fell in love with you in Maluku," she finally admitted the words for the first time, opening the floodgate of tears "I didn't realize the way I felt about you until you were gone, Booth. And I know it's wrong, and illogical, and irrational, but I love you. I'm so in love with you it scares me."

Booth swallowed the lump that formed in his throat, unsure of what to say at the moment. Bones just told him she loved him. And it wasn't a dream this time. She actually used the 'L' word. Bones loved him. Temperance Brennan was in love with him.

"Bones," he whispered breathlessly, moving his hands from her shoulders to carefully frame her face, "Temperance, I-I," he couldn't seem to get the words out, so he just settled on the one sentence he could manage, "say it again."

"I love you," she whispered, the words feeling almost foreign falling from her lips, as she subconsciously rubbed her cheek against his hand, "I love you, Booth. I love you."

Without seeking permission, he crushed his lips to hers, pulling her against his body so he could feel her heart pounding against the wet fabric of both of their shirts. Brennan parted her lips without hesitation, inviting his tongue inside.

"I love you," she murmured against his lips, gasping when she felt his tongue invade the inside of her mouth, "I love you."

"Oh, God, Bones, I love you too," he mumbled back to her, backing her up gently against the dirty, outside wall of her building, "more than you know, baby. More than you'll ever understand."

The whole situation felt surreal to Brennan as she wrapped her arm around his neck, letting her fingers tangle in his soaking hair. Just a few minutes ago, he was telling her he didn't love her, and now, it was all he could say, as he the phrase mumbled incoherently between kisses. Feeling as if necking against the wall of her apartment building was not an appropriate display of his love, he pulled her back against his chest, separating their lips so he could just look into her eyes. As they stared at each other, blue eyes meeting brown, they were unsure of what to do. Booth tucked a lock of wet hair behind her ear, smiling brightly, as a chuckle shook his chest. Here he was, standing with his nose pressed against his partners, and all he could do was laugh. Brennan wasn't sure what was funny, but she joined him, both of them simply laughing, as they caressed one another's faces, and let the rain soak into their skin.

* * *

The door to Brennan's apartment flew open as they stumbled through the doorway, hands and lips all over one another. Barely waiting a second before the door was closed, Brennan untied her coat from around her waist and shrugged it from her shoulders, hearing his jacket hit the ground when he did the same. She gasped when she felt his hands skim down her sides, peeling her dripping wet shirt over her head and tossing it to the floor to join her jacket, only to feel her mimic his motions seconds later.

"Bedroom," Brennan whispered against his mouth, nudging him gently backwards.

"Wait," he whispered back, pulling his lips from hers once again.

Brennan paused, afraid that he changed his mind, but reassured when he touched her cheek gently. Her skin was freezing, and damp from the rain, but she felt anything but cold at the moment, with one of Booth's hands on her stomach and one touching her face intimately.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked, quietly.

"No," Brennan admitted, "are you?"

"No," he smiled at how honest they could be with one another, his knuckles brushing her cheek, "but I want you."

"I want you too," she whispered, pressing a soft kiss to the center of his chest, "I want to break the laws of physics with you, Seeley Booth," she peeked up at him, as if she were seeking his approval, "I don't want to have sex with you. I want you to make love to me."

"Bones," he groaned, slipping his hand to the back of her neck to cradle the back of her head gently, "I'm going to show you how two people can become one."

And with that, he had her approval, and proceeded to her bedroom, where he showed her how to make love for the rest of the night, finally falling asleep in each other's arms when they were spent, undressed, holding each other close, the way things were supposed to be.

***bites nails* So what did you all think? Next chapter, Booth comes to terms with the fact that he cheated on a woman for the first time. So I didn't just completely forget about Hannah (although I wish the writers of the actual show would xD). Please tell me what you think. =]**


	2. Goodbye to You

**A/N: Okay, so I think some of you will be glad to know that this is no longer a two-shot. =] I was planning on just keeping this one short, but then I started getting all these ideas of where this could go, and I decided to let it take off. **

**Also, I was extremely overwhelmed by the response this has gotten. I woke up thinking I had maybe a couple alerts and maybe a review or two, and was completely shocked and excited, when I saw all the feedback. You guys are great, seriously. I can't thank you enough. =] **

Chapter Two

* * *

_"And it hurts to want everything and nothing at the same time_  
_I want what's yours and I want what's mine._  
_I want you, but I'm not giving in this time._

_Goodbye to you_  
_Goodbye to everything I thought I knew._  
_You were the one that I loved_  
_The one thing that I tried to hold on to."_

-"Goodbye to You" by Michelle Branch

* * *

Sunlight streaked through the closed blinds, marking Brennan's face with little lines of light as she shifted comfortably buried, warm and dry, under the comforter. She turned over to press her nose against his back, her arms snaking unconsciously around his waist as she slept.

Booth, however, was not so calm and relaxed. He'd been awake for a half hour already, trying his hardest to ignore the woman pressed against his back as his mind raced.

_I cheated on Hannah_, he repeated, over and over again, in his head,_ I don't cheat. I have never once cheated on a woman, before last night. _

When the thought of Hannah crossed his mind, he shuddered. His Hannah. She was probably at home, their home, worrying about him. She would never even consider that he spent the night with his partner, which just made the guilt that much worse. Booth attempted to shift out from under his partner's arm without waking her up, unable to shake the guilty feeling. This was a lose-lose situation for him. He either stayed and continued to betray Hannah in a way that he never imagined he would, or he left, and left Brennan to wake up and find him gone, feeling alone and used.

"Booth?" She asked quietly, aware of his intentions to try and escape her bed when he got out from her grip and sat up straight, "Where are you going?"

_Busted_.

He turned to look over his shoulder at her, his heart nearly shattering right then and there, when he saw the look of pure innocence on her face, the sunlight hitting her eyes in such a way, that they almost looked see through.

"I was just," his words seemed to get jumbled when she tilted her head slightly, propping herself up on her elbow, "I, don't know. Honestly."

Brennan could tell by the tone of his voice that something was upsetting him, and then it hit her. They slept together, when he was still with Hannah.

"You cheated on Hannah," she said, making it very clear that she didn't care whether or not Hannah was hurt at the moment.

"Thanks for pointing that out," Booth's voice was bitterly sarcastic when he answered.

Brennan paused, tracing her fingers over the sheets, searching for the words that would make her sound empathetic.

"Are you upset?" She asked.

"Yeah," he responded honestly, "I am."

Brennan sat up next to him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. She half expected him to shrug it off, since she was the reason he cheated anyway, but wasn't overly surprised when he didn't.

"I don't cheat, Bones," he told her, his eyes having an almost dead look in them, "it's not me. I'm a good Catholic."

"You technically didn't commit adultery, since you and Hannah aren't married," she pointed out.

"Bones, now isn't the time for your squinty analysis crap. What I did was wrong."

Brennan was hurt when he just so blatantly told her that he regretted sleeping with her the night prior. Booth could tell by her change in expression that his words hit her hard, but he wasn't going to lie to her. He did a good job hiding the fact that he felt like the biggest hypocrite on Earth though. All these years, he was convinced that when they finally did sleep together, she'd run, and now, not only was she staying, but he was the one running.

"Do you regret last night?" She asked, even though she was already pretty sure of the answer.

"It shouldn't have happened," he responded, avoiding giving her a direct yes or no answer, "I shouldn't have cheated on my girlfriend."

"You told me you loved me," Brennan's tone was cold.

"I do. That wasn't a lie. I just, love Hannah too."

"You can't choose both of us."

"I know."

It was silent between the two of them for a minute, before Brennan finally spoke again, keeping her voice soft.

"You have to choose," she told him, being firm but gentle, "I won't allow myself to be the girl you come to so you can fulfil your primal urges when Hannah is out of town."

"No, Bones, you know I'd never do that to you," he promised her.

"Then choose," she insisted.

Booth looked into her eyes, seeing only the woman he fell in love with before this whole mess. Before Maluku, and Afghanistan. Before Hannah, and before they made the stupid mistake of sleeping together. He'd been in love with her for years now, only, when it was unrequited, it wasn't this hard.

"Bones," he touched her shoulder gently with the tips of his fingers, "I love you."

"I know," she closed her eyes, putting her walls back up and not allowing herself to say the words back, "I know you do. But you have to choose now. Me or Hannah. Which one of us do you love more?"

Booth let out a long sigh and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close so her head could rest against his chest.

"You're giving me an impossible choice," he told her, kissing the top of her head softly.

"It's not all that hard. You know who you want."

She knew it seemed egotistical, but Brennan knew, somewhere in her heart, that when she faced him with this decision, he would choose her. Even if he didn't want to admit it out loud, she knew, given the choice between her and Hannah, what decision he would make. They'd been partners for six years. He'd only known Hannah for less than a year.

"I don't, Temperance," he whispered apologetically into her hair.

"I'm," Brennan shook her head, turning to look up at him, unable to form a sentence in her mind, "you don't what?"

"I know it's hard for you to understand-"

"I'm not stupid, Booth," she cut him off sharply, sitting up so she was no longer nestled into his chest, "it's not hard for me to understand."

"Bones, I didn't think it was possible to be in love with two people at once," he tried to explain, "I laughed at people who cheated on their spouse and then cried to me that they loved them, because I didn't think it was possible to be in love with more than one person, but, now that I'm faced with a choice," he paused, his mind flickering back and forth between Brennan and Hannah, "I don't think I can make it."

"You have to," she said, raising her voice just slightly, "if you can't make the decision, I'll make it for me. If you are having that much difficulty choosing, it means you want her."

"No, no it doesn't."

"So then you're choosing me."

"No. I mean, yes. I mean-"

"Booth, me or her. It's that simple."

"Bones, I can't leave Hannah. I just, can't bring myself to do it," he looked at her apologetically, "I'm sorry. I love her. And I cheated on her."

Brennan felt as if someone had just punched her in the stomach, making it hard for her to breathe. Here she was, laying in bed with her partner, the way she'd dreamed about so many times in the past couple months, and he was confessing his love for another woman. That most certainly was not the way it worked in her dreams. The morning after was supposed to be peaceful, happy, filled with laughing and touching and kissing, not regret and hurt.

"I'm so sorry, Temperance," he whispered, subconsciously pressing a kiss to her hair, "I'm so sorry."

Brennan bit her lip when it quivered, pulling her knees to her chest as she squeezed her eyes shut, wanting anything but to be touched at the moment.

"Get out," she whispered.

"Bones," he tried, in a heartbroken voice, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear for her.

"Get out," she raised her voice, "get out of my apartment," she pressed her palm against his arm to give him a good shove, "get out!"

Booth wanted to tell her he changed his mind, that he wanted to be with her instead of Hannah, but he couldn't bring himself to say the words. As much as he cared about her, he knew Brennan wasn't the type of woman who would want to be with him in thirty, or forty, or fifty years. She'd told him that already.

Choosing not to argue with her, seeing that she was in no mood, he simply obeyed her demands, getting out of her bed and quickly getting dressed, without his t-shirt and jacket, which were still in the hallway from the night prior. He tried to ignore the anthropologist who was curled up on her side, looking like a kicked puppy, since he was unable to see the woman he loved upset like that, especially when he knew it was because of him. He was simply focusing on his task at hand, until he heard the small whimpering noises coming from his partner, her shoulders shaking just the tiniest bit.

"Bones-"

"Don't," she cut him off, and he could tell by the sound of her voice that she had been crying, "my name is not Bones. It's Temperance."

"Bones," he repeated, stubbornly, "please don't do this."

"Do you want me to smile, Seeley? Like you didn't just hurt me? Like you didn't just jump into bed with me, and then decide you don't love me as much as Hannah?"

"I do love you as much as Hannah!" He huffed in frustration, since she didn't seem to be getting it, "but you scare me, Temperance. Today you'll be claiming to love me, but then tomorrow you'll tell me it was just primal instinct, and that you were just getting a release."

"You're not an outlet, Booth. You and I could never just keep it casual. There's too many metaphorical strings."

"There's always going to be strings, Bones," he told her, zipping up the fly of his pants once he was situated, "there's no such thing as 'just sex'. Especially not with us."

Brennan turned back onto her side, clutching her pillow to her chest.

"Goodbye, Booth," she said, simply, not bothering to engage in this discussion with him, especially not now.

"Can I ask you something before I go?" He asked.

"What?" Brennan asked back, her voice indicating disinterest.

"After all this, will we be able to stay partners?"

Brennan turned over to look at him, her expression serious.

"I would like to try," she said, being completely honest, "but I'm not sure if things can ever go back to the way they were."

"I know," he told her, agreeing with the theory, "I don't think it's possible."

Brennan nodded, just wanting to get him out of her apartment as quickly as possible.

"Can you please leave now?" She asked.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm going."

And with those last words, he left her bedroom, leaving her feeling alone and used, the way he knew she would from the moment he made the decision to leave.

**Yes, I know, you probably all hate me right now, but I promise, things are going to look up very, very soon. I can only be angsty for so long before I start having fluff withdrawals. xD**


	3. Whatever It Takes

**A/N: Okay, so this chapter was actually really hard to write, mainly because I hate Hannah and nearly gagged when I had to write a scene between her and Booth that didn't involve her getting dumped. xD So don't be afraid to tell me how it came out, because I'm really not sure. **

**And thank you all so much for the feedback. =] I'm really glad that I'm getting as much as I am. You guys are amazing.**

Chapter Three

* * *

"_I'll do whatever it takes _

_to turn this around_

_I know what's at stake_

_I know that I've let you down_

_And if you give me a chance_

_believe that I can change_

_I'll keep us together_

_Whatever it takes."_

-"Whatever it Takes" by Lifehouse

* * *

When Booth reached his apartment, he and Hannah's apartment, he tried to open the door as quietly as possible, praying that maybe she'd gone out of town for work or something, since he wasn't sure if he could deal with facing her at the moment. Aside from the fact that he was feeling immensely guilty for cheating on her, it was obvious that he'd been crying, and he knew he couldn't explain that one away. Seeley Booth didn't cry over petty things. She'd know something was very wrong. Of course she didn't go out of town though, and the first thing he heard when he opened the door was his girlfriend's voice sighing a frantic 'Oh, Seeley' before she let out a long breath of relief.

"Where were you?" She asked, standing up from where she was seated on the couch, "I thought something happened," she paused when she saw the dead, hollow look in his eyes, "baby, are you crying? What happened?"

When she reached him, Booth simply pulled her into a hug, crushing her small body against his, his arms locked tightly around her shoulders. Hannah pressed her forehead to his shoulder, her hands stroking his back comfortingly.

"It's okay," she assured him, unsure of what was wrong, but just trying to be comforting, "hey, whatever happened, you can tell me."

"Hannah, baby, I'm so sorry," he whispered, inhaling her scent deeply after he spoke.

Booth was planning on just keeping it a secret, pretending it never happened and never letting it happen again, but when he saw Hannah, everything just came pouring out, as if he couldn't keep it bottled up anymore, even though it had only been a couple hours. He wouldn't have been able to live with the guilt if he didn't get it off his chest.

"I love you," he told her.

"I know, and I love you too, Seeley," she responded, "what happened? Why are you apologizing like you did something wrong?"

When he picked up his head and just looked at her, she knew. She knew he'd gone out to find Temperance the night prior, and he never returned. Then he showed up the next morning in the same clothes, crying, apologizing. She was able to put two and two together.

"Oh God," she whispered, her heart feeling as if it were going to leap out of her chest, "oh, God, Seeley. You didn't. Please tell me you didn't."

"I'm sorry," he breathed, "I'm so sorry."

He felt like he'd been saying those words a lot lately. Between Brennan and Hannah, he must have apologized thirty times that morning.

"Seeley," she shook her head, not wanting to believe what she was hearing, "no."

"I don't want to lose you," he whispered.

"You have a strange way of showing that," she looked him in the eyes, her own red and burning with the tears that were building up in them, "say the words."

"Hannah-"

"Say them."

Booth paused, having to gather them in his mind before he spoke them. He'd repeated it over and over in his head that morning, but they never actually left his mouth. He was afraid of those four little words, the ones he thought he would never speak.

"I slept with Temperance."

Hannah buried her head in her hands, feeling hurt and betrayed.

"This was inevitable, wasn't it?" She asked, more to herself than him.

"Yes," he admitted, "it was going to happen eventually."

"But you never thought-"

"No," he cut her off before she could say it, "I never thought it'd happen while I was with you."

Hannah looked at him, getting her tears under control before she spoke, making sure not even the smallest trickle of salt water left her eyes.

"Why?" Was all she asked.

"Bones told me she wanted a relationship," he told her, honestly, "I told her I was with you, but, then things just got out of hand. She started crying, I tried to comfort her, and then she told me she loved me. And I know it's not an excuse, but when she said that she loved me, after six years, I kind of lost my sense of perspective."

"Why would she tell you she loved you when she knows you're seeing someone else?" Hannah asked, completely appalled, "I thought we were friends."

"It didn't have anything to do with you," he promised her, "she was having a rough day."

"So you're defending her now?"

"No. No, Hannah. I just don't want you to think she was being malicious."

"She slept with you, Seeley!" Hannah exclaimed, "it doesn't get much more malicious than that," Booth could tell that she was seething now, no longer holding her cool composure, "just the thought of her kissing you, touching you, makes me sick to my stomach. The thought of you making love to another woman..."

"It wasn't supposed to happen," he promised her, "I swear to you, Hannah, it was a moment of weakness. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I have to ask. And after what I did, I don't deserve you, or Bones, or anyone else for that matter."

Hannah looked at the floor, then back up at her boyfriend, very clearly and sincerely hurt by his actions. This was the one thing she knew he would never do to her, and here they were. 'A moment of weakness' he called it, as if it were that simple.

"I love you," she said, "and I want this to work," she paused, knowing he was going to take this the wrong way, "but if you can't control yourself, if your feelings for her are too strong, then maybe you two shouldn't be around each other. It's obvious that you still have feelings for her, so if you want this to work, if you want us to have a successful relationship, I don't think it's possible for Temperance to be part of the picture."

"We work together," he told her, gently informing her that, that was not an option, "we're going to have to see each other," he had to chuckle bitterly, "but trust me, she doesn't want to see me either, so it won't be very hard for us to stay away from each other outside of work."

"Is she angry with you?" Hannah asked.

"Of course she is," Booth said, as if that were obvious, "I left her. I'd be angry with me too."

Hannah half smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek.

"I'm glad you came back to me, Seeley," she told him quietly, "I would have put money on you leaving me for Temperance. I'm glad you proved me wrong."

"You're not mad?" He asked.

"I'm livid," she assured him, "but I'm going to try to get over it."

"Thank you," he leaned down to kiss her, only to be rejected when she turned her head, using her hand to block his lips.

"I'm not touching you until you shower," she said, keeping her tone light, even though her words were completely serious, "I won't be able to until you wash her off of you."

* * *

Brennan squirted her lavender shampoo into her left hand, moving both hands to her head to lather it throughout her hair. Her mind was racing as she scrubbed herself, working the shampoo through every inch of her hair, making sure it got all the way down to the scalp.

"_You're so beautiful," Booth whispered, once she only remained in her emerald green panties and matching bra set._

_His fingers gently caressed down her sides, causing her to shiver under his touch, his mouth moving back down to her neck to resume, what he was doing a few minutes prior. Brennan leaned up so her back was no longer against the sheets, and took his hands to guide them to the clip holding her bra together, placing them there in a silent signal. She simply arched against him when she felt the clip give way against her back. _

Brennan shuddered at the memories, reaching for her soap to put some on the loofa and start to spread it over her stomach, washing off her partner's touch. She knew it wasn't logical, but when she reminisced, she could almost feel him touching her again, and that made her want to scrub herself clean of him. She didn't want to remember. She just wanted to pretend that none of this ever happened, even though she knew that was impossible. If only it were possible to turn back time, then she would have stopped herself from blurting out her feelings.

"_Bones," he whispered in her ear, seeing that her eyes were squeezed shut and she was burying her head in his shoulder, "Bones, what's the matter?"_

"_It's just," she sighed, completely overwhelmed by the emotion she was feeling at that very moment, "you don't know how many times I've thought about this."_

"_This. As in, us? Together?" He asked, running his hands down her exposed arms._

_Brennan nodded, tracing her fingers over his back. _

"_It's going to be better than my fantasies, isn't it?" She asked, peeking up at him._

"_Yes," he promised her, "much better," he paused, stroking a hand through her hair as the other traced the top of her panties, "but I need to be sure this is what you really want."_

_Brennan looked into his eyes, reaching up to gently cradle the side of his face._

"_Make love to me," she whispered. _

Brennan groaned in frustration with herself, using a little more soap to wash her arms, scrubbing just a bit harder every time she thought of him caressing her biceps, or gently grasping her forearms to hold her close to him. She wanted to pretend what happened between them was 'just sex'. She wanted to pretend that they just made a petty little mistake that meant absolutely nothing. But it had been different with Booth, and she knew it was different for him too.

_After their lovemaking ended, Brennan laid content in her partner's arms, reaching up to press the tips of her fingers ever so gently to his lips, tracing over them._

_"Do you love me?" She asked quietly, moving her fingers over to trace the line of his jaw._

_"Yes," he promised, without hesitation, "but you knew that."_

_"I know," she admitted, with a smile, "I just wanted to hear you say it again."_

_Booth leaned down to press a gentle kiss to her lips._

_"Was it better than your fantasies?" He asked, only half kidding around._

_"Much," she laughed lightly, "you're an exceptional mate."_

_"Don't say the word 'mate', it makes us sound like chimps."_

_"Well then what word would you like me to use?"_

_Booth smiled a sincere, infamous, Seeley Booth smile before he spoke._

_"Lover has a nice ring to it."_

Brennan jerked the water off once the soap was off her skin and running down the drain, nearly pulling the handles for the hot and cold faucets off when she did so. He asked her if they were still able to be partners after this. What kind of question was that? Of course they couldn't. And not to mention, she didn't _want_ to be his partner anymore anyway. Seeley Booth, the man who'd saved her life on multiple occasions, the man who she trusted more than anyone, slept with her, and then left her for someone else, which, according to Brennan, was one of the lowest things he could have done. It would have hurt less if he just said he didn't want to be with her in the car and that was that.

When she stepped out of the shower, she wrapped a towel around her and went back to her bedroom to find something to wear. But before she picked an outfit out, she took a couple minutes to just sit on the edge of her bed and think. Brennan knew the only way she was going to be able to move on was if she found someone else. But she didn't have time for that, so she decided to go with one of the people that would bother Booth the most.

She tugged the drawer to her night stand open to find her cell phone, the whole little area seeming to be one big reminder of her partner. A box of condoms laid on the top of all the junk from the night prior, and when she moved it, Brainy Smurf was the next thing to catch her eye.

"Where the hell is my cell phone?" She murmured to herself, subconsciously tossing Jasper, her little figurine pig, under her bed in the process.

When she finally found the phone, she barely had to scroll through her contacts before she found Andrew Hacker, dialing the number and holding the phone to her ear in anticipation as it rang a few times.

"Andrew?" She asked, when she heard his voice on the other end of the line, "Hi, it's Temperance. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to get together a little later."

And that was her ticket. Her sexual relationship with Seeley Booth was nearly a memory now, or, at least, that was what she liked to think.


	4. You Oughta Know

**A/N: What time is it? Time for some B&B sexual tension! xD I was feeling in a bit of an angsty mood when I wrote the end of this chapter last night, because my football team (Indianapolis) got bumped out of the playoffs, so, naturally, I was in a bit of a mood. Now we just root for the Eagles (my second favorite team =]) and see what happens. But enough about football. **

**And thank you all so much for the feedback everyone. =] I love reading what you all have to say, even if some of you are mad at me right now for all the angst, and the whole Hacker thing. I think only one of you is actually excited about Hacker. xD **

Chapter Four

* * *

"'_Cause the joke that you laid in the bed, that was me_

_and I'm not gonna fade as soon as you close your eyes_

_and you know it._

_And every time I scratch my nails down someone else's back I hope you feel it_

_Well can you feel it?"_

-"You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette

* * *

"Hey," Hannah's quiet voice sounded concerned, as she touched Booth's shoulder with her fingertips, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

Booth, who was lost in his own thoughts, turned his attention to the woman laying in bed with him, tangled under the sheets. His hand immediately moved to smooth down the tangles in her blonde hair, rewarding her with a small, half smile.

"Hey," he greeted her warmly, his hand cupping the side of her face softly as she cuddled into his chest once she was certain she was welcome.

Hannah's hands skated across his skin as she held her lover close, her loose blonde curls sprawled across his chest when she leaned her head back against him. When she felt his grip around her waist tighten subconsciously, she turned her head to look up at him, seeing that he was deep in thought. After a short pause, she finally asked.

"What are you thinking about, Seeley?" She pulled him out of his thoughts once again.

"Nothing," Booth lied.

"Something," Hannah corrected him, "you seem, distracted."

"I'm not," he replied simply, with a hint of barely detectable coldness.

The truth was, he was frustrated. When he and Hannah made love that night, something was different. His mind was somewhere else the whole time, somewhere else being his partner. There were even a few times where he almost slipped up and called her Bones, always catching himself just seconds before the word could tumble from his lips.

Hannah caught on after a few minutes, not catching on that he was disappointed with their love making, but that Temperance was on his mind.

"Are you still upset about her?" She asked, not able to bring herself to say the name.

"She was my best friend," he told her, shuddering when he had to put the sentence in past tense, "it's going to take a while for me to get over. I just, wish things could go back to the way they were. I don't want her to hate me. I don't think I can deal with that."

"Things would be normal if you didn't get into bed with her," Hannah reminded him, "I understand you're upset, but all of this could have been avoided."

"Now you sound like her," Booth rolled his eyes at her bluntness, "I know I messed up, Hannah. You don't have to keep shoving it in my face."

"Yeah, you messed up, Seeley, and you're not going to get off scot-free," she told him sternly, propping herself up on her elbow to look at him, "it's going to take some time for me to fully get over it. It's not like you did something small. You cheated on me. You slept with your best friend. I'm not just going to pretend that it doesn't bother me, when it does."

"Well if it bothers you so much then maybe we just shouldn't have done this tonight," he said, feeling bad for being so cold to her, but unable to help it at the moment, "don't play games with me, Hannah. You either forgive me or you don't."

"I do, to some extent," she explained, "on the other hand, whenever I think about you touching her like that, I get angry with you all over again."

"Like you are now?"

Hannah paused, sitting up and away from him, pulling up a sheet from the multiple layers of cloth on the bed to cover herself.

"Maybe I should go sleep on the couch," she suggested.

"Hannah," he sighed, "stay."

Hannah huffed and laid back down, turning over onto her side and pulling the covers up to her shoulders. The only reason she was even staying was because she didn't feel like getting up, getting dressed, and going to sleep on the uncomfortable couch. So, even though she remained in bed with her boyfriend, there was no holding one another and cuddling. They slept on opposite sides of the bed, barely even acknowledging each other.

As much as Booth wanted to turn over and apologize for being such a jerk, he didn't. He was too distracted thinking about everything that went on that night. He was fine being with Hannah at the beginning, but when she whispered 'make love to me', he swore he heard it in Brennan's voice, and it was all downhill from there. Brennan was the only the only thing on his mind for the rest of the night. And when he fell asleep, he dreamed of the woman he loved, but just not the woman lying next to him.

* * *

"You know, Temperance, I was wondering when we were going to get together again," Hacker told her, taking a sip of his coffee, "I thought we really hit it off, and then when you went to Indonesia, I never heard from you again."

"I've been very busy ever since I got back from Maluku," she lied, since she knew Booth was the real reason she never called Hacker once she got back to D.C., "we've had quite a few cases, and I'm working on my next novel, so I don't have much time for a personal life."

"Well, I'm glad you made time in your busy schedule for me," he smiled politely.

Brennan smiled as well, feeling genuinely happy for the first time in the past day. She felt slightly guilty, since the only reason she called Hacker in the first place was to spite Booth, but that was before she remembered how much she actually did like him. They always got along great, and he was sweet, so she didn't mind spending the afternoon with him.

"It's never a problem to make time for a friend," she shrugged.

Hacker nearly winced at the word friend, knowing that she would probably never think of him as anything more than that. They'd tried it out last year, went on a couple dates, but it never escalated into anything more than that. They'd barely even kissed, other than a simple kiss on the cheek or a small peck on the lips.

"I'm glad you consider me a good enough friend to make time for," he responded, as Brennan smiled silently, taking a sip of her coffee, "so, any interesting cases lately?"

"No," Brennan subconsciously tensed up at the mention of work, "not recently."

"I guess no murder rates are down lately," he joked.

"I, don't think so," Brennan was just slightly confused.

There was an awkward silence between them, before Hacker changed the subject again.

"So how's Booth? Haven't seen much of him lately."

Brennan was silently grateful that he was the one to bring up the subject of her partner, so she could tell him that she wanted their partnership terminated without seeming like that was the only reason she asked him out to coffee.

"I, don't know how he is," she stated, awkwardly, "Booth and I had a falling out. We are not on speaking terms at the moment."

Hacker nearly choked on his coffee when he heard her words, expecting just a simple 'he's fine' in response to his question.

"Wow," he said, "that's, wow. Hard to believe. You two were, I mean, you guys were so close. What happened?"

"It's a long story," she sighed, never even considering explaining the situation to him, "we had a disagreement. We aren't speaking at the moment. And I was going to tell you a little later, but since the subject came up now, I would like my partnership with Booth terminated."

"Woah," Hacker's eyes went wide, "that's, a little rash, don't you think? He's the best agent we have."

"I know, Booth is exceptional at his job, and we had a very productive partnership, but I can not work with him anymore," she said coldly, her attitude more directed toward the subject than the man sitting across from her, "we will not get any work done if we aren't speaking."

"Can't you two like, try to work it out or something?" Hacker asked, "the FBI really can't afford for our best team to stop working together."

"I assure you, we will not be your best team anymore if we continue to work together."

"What happened between you two?"

"It's not important," Brennan rolled her eyes slightly, "what's important is that we no longer put a hindrance on the FBI by continuing to work together when we both know that, that's never going to work out. I'll just stay in the lab and you can either assign Booth another partner or he can work alone."

Normally, if someone flat out told him what to do, Hacker would be annoyed, and defy them just to spite them, but Brennan, she was hard to resist. He couldn't look her straight in the eyes and say no, so instead, he simply rolled over and gave in to her demands.

"Your partnership will be terminated by tomorrow, if that's what you want," he said, "but I want you to be one hundred percent sure."

"I'm one hundred percent sure," she assured him with a nod, "I want Booth and I's partnership terminated as soon as possible."

"Alright, it's done," he said, his eyes still giving her a quizzical look, "you should stop by his office tomorrow and give him the news, because I think-"

"Would you be able to do it?" Brennan cut him off, "Can you just, leave him a note? I really do not wish to speak with him."

"It's that bad, huh?"

"Considering I want a five year partnership ended, I'd say it's 'that' bad."

"Alright, he'll have the note by Monday morning," Hacker assured her, "but, just for that, you owe me another date. And a dinner date this time, not drinking stale coffee at the diner."

"Fine," she smiled, figuring this wasn't such a bad punishment, "Tuesday at seven?"

"It's a date," Hacker smiled back, "I'll make reservations."

* * *

Brennan was in her office with her laptop resting on the desk as she tapped away at the keys, working vigorously on her next novel. Ever since she slept with Booth she had a spark that broke her writer's block, even though, she did notice, the Andy character was becoming more and more of a villain as the chapters went on.

The only thing that pulled her out of her 'writing zone' was the sound of frantic pounding on her door, the person on the other side not even waiting for her to respond before they shoved the door open, slamming it behind them.

"What the hell is this?" She heard the voice of her, now former, partner, thunder through her office as he demanded to know what the piece of paper he was holding up was before he started to pull lines from it, "our partnership is hereby terminated?"

"Yes," Brennan responded simply, biting her lip, making sure not to look up at him, "I do not wish to work with you anymore."

"So you get Hacker to write me a letter saying that our partnership is severed?" He asked, putting extra emphasis on the man's name, as if he were a joke, "five years we've been partners, Bones. And you don't even have the courtesy to come tell me in person."

"Courtesy?" Her head finally shot up so her eyes could meet his, for the first time since she kicked him out of her apartment the morning after they slept together, standing up to walk around to the front of her desk, "You want to talk lack of courtesy? You didn't have the courtesy to tell me that you were just going to have sex with me and then go back to Hannah."

"This had nothing to do with that," he took a step closer to her, brining his voice down a little, "and can you not just blurt that out? No one is allowed to know about that."

"Why? Because you're ashamed that you slept with me?"

The words stung Booth as he had to take a second to regroup, feeling that horrible pinch of guilt in the bottom of his stomach again after he spoke.

"Of course I'm not ashamed of you, Bones. You're beautiful."

"Apparently not beautiful enough. I'm sorry I'm not blonde. I know that's what you like," her voice was bitterly sarcastic, "maybe if I dyed my hair you would have stayed with me instead of running back to Hannah."

"Bones-"

"Shut up," she held her hand up to cut him off, "don't call me Bones, don't speak to me. I hate you, Booth," She paused when she saw how hurt he was, feeling a sick sense of pride for hurting him as much as he hurt her, "I have never once felt this sort of hatred towards anybody else in all my years of existence."

"Three days ago you loved me," his voice was lower now, feeling as if someone just stepped on his chest and shattered his sternum when she spoke the three words.

"That was three days ago," she lowered her voice as well, not to the soft, hurt, tone he was using, but to an angry, bitter, tone, "things can change drastically over three days."

"You don't hate me," he told her.

"Oh, yes I do," she assured him, "our partnership is ruined, our friendship is ruined, and all for just one stupid night of mediocre sex."

"Mediocre?" He had to chuckle bitterly, "I beg to differ."

"Yes, mediocre," she promised him, even though she knew it was a lie, "you're not as good in bed as you think you are."

"You seemed to like it when I did that thing with the tip of my tongue," he reminded her.

"What thing?" She asked, knowing exactly what he was talking about, trying to control the redness that was creeping onto her cheeks at the thought, "I don't remember any special thing."

Booth furrowed his eyebrows curiously at her.

"Want me to show you?" He asked, suggestively.

"No," Brennan responded, immensely proud of her self control, as she turned her back to him and picked something up off of her desk to distract her hands, "I'm currently seeing someone else."

"Already?" He scoffed, "Who?"

"Andrew," she turned to examine his facial expression, smiling a small smile of triumph when she saw his cocky expression fade, "Hacker. We're going on another date tomorrow. Our first was very satisfying."

Booth paused, having to take a minute to let that one sink in.

"You slept with Hacker?"

"I don't believe that's any of your business," she looked him dead in the eyes, avoiding the yes or no answer, "now, if you don't mind, I have work to do. I don't have time for this."

"So let me get this straight," Booth stared, "you don't have any feelings for me at all, other than hate, and our sex was vanilla?"

"I don't know what vanilla has to do with anything, but the first part is correct."

"So sex with me was boring, but sex with Hacker was-"

"I don't recall saying I even slept with Hacker," she cut him off, "is someone feeling a little jealous?"

"Why would I be jealous?" He asked.

"Because you wish it was you," she shrugged, as if that were obvious, "you wish _you_ were taking me in the back of your car."

"You did it in the back of his car?"

Brennan half smiled wickedly.

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"

Booth took a step closer to her, lowering his voice to a warning tone.

"You're playing mind games with me," he accused.

"Maybe," she responded, her voice low and rough.

"I'm telling you right now, Temperance, promising you, if we ever have sex again, it's going to be so much better than sex with Hacker."

"If we ever have sex again, it will simply be for a release," she told him, "don't get me wrong, Seeley, you're good, but not good enough to be monogamous with. If we were ever to have that kind of relationship, it would be casual, no strings attached."

"So then why don't we do that now?" He suggested, "We'll just be two people who happen to occasionally fall into bed together. No strings attached, no spooning or staying the night, purely physical."

"Because you're 'in love' with Hannah, and Hacker and I are spending some time together as well."

"It's just sex, isn't it? According to you."

"Why have you all of the sudden changed your views of monogamy?"

Booth looked her dead in the eyes, to make sure she knew he was completely serious.

"Because, ever since that night, I can't stop thinking about you. About what a stupid mistake I made. Hannah's mad at me, you hate me, and all I ever think about is you, and it's driving me crazy, Bones. I can't even think straight."

"That's your fault," she told him, "you could have avoided all of this."

"Yeah, I know," he rolled his eyes, "but you know, forget it. Forget the offer, it was a moment of weakness. You go back to Hacker, I'll go back to Hannah, and we'll never speak again. Because that's what you want, isn't it?"

"Yes, that's precisely what I want," she told him, "so goodbye."

Booth looked at her, feeling the anger towards his partner burn in his chest, but simply turned around, not acting on it, and left her office. How one woman managed to pull so many emotions from him in just a few minutes still amazed him. But she'd never do that again, apparently, since, according to her, she never wanted to speak to him again. And he would just have to live with that.


	5. Sick Cycle Carousel

**A/N: Lookie, lookie, I actually got a new chapter out two days in a row. =] That's do to the fact that I actually woke up obnoxiously early this morning, so I had time to work on it before I left for school. So, anyways, enjoy. =]**

**And, as always, thank you all so much for the feedback.**

Chapter Five

* * *

"_So when will this end?_

_It goes on an on._

_Over and over, and over again._

_Keep spinning around, I know that it won't stop_

'_Til I step down from this for good."_

-"Sick Cycle Carousel" by Lifehouse

* * *

Booth was at home, with a bottle of scotch in one hand and a small yellow sticky note from Hannah in the other, taking small sips straight from the bottle. He remembered getting annoyed at Brennan when she took his good bottle of scotch and drank from the bottle, but when he did it, he didn't seem to care. He didn't seem to care about anything anymore.

Brennan was perfect for him, and he knew he completely blew it when he chose Hannah over her. What was going through his mind when he chose her anyway? He couldn't, for the life of him, seem to remember. It must have been his fight or flight response. He'd said it to her that morning, that he was afraid of her. Afraid that she would love him one minute and then stop the next, or keep some guys on the side the way she did to the gay batonist and the deep sea welder.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard a knock at the door, and set his bottle and note down to go answer it. He was surprised, when he opened the door, to see Brennan, in a simple green blouse and jeans, but looking beautiful, as always, standing outside. Before he could roll his eyes and snap at her, he noticed something that didn't seem quite right. Her eyes were a crisp red and her eye makeup was smudged and running.

"Bones?" He asked, slightly alarmed that she was showing up at his apartment crying, especially after the huge fight they had in her office, "What's up?"

"Is Hannah here?" She asked.

"No, she went to Virginia. Something for work. What's the matter?"

Brennan wiped her eyes and sniffed, feeling foolish for going to him, but unsure of who else she could go to at the moment.

"I just witnessed someone's death," she said, more tears seeming to spring into her eyes when she spoke, "a teenager. He got hit by a car right in front of me. I watched him die. I watched them put him in the body bag and take him to the hospital to be placed in the morgue."

"I'm, sorry," he was unsure of what she wanted him to say, "I'm sorry you had to see that."

Brennan sighed and crossed her arms.

"I was on my way to see Hacker," she mumbled, "I shouldn't be here."

"No, no, it's fine," he assured her, opening the door a little wider to invite her in, "come in and calm down, you shouldn't be driving like this," he closed the door behind her when she reluctantly stepped into the apartment, "do you want something to drink?"

"No," she shook her head, "I'm not sure if I'd be able to keep anything down right now."

Booth was already in the kitchen by the time she finished her sentence, pouring her a glass of water anyway, just incase she decided she wanted it later. When he went back out to the living room, he fount her sitting on the couch with her head in her hands, attempting to calm herself down and forget about what she just saw.

"I said I didn't want anything," she spoke, her words muffled by her arms, when Booth took a seat next to her and set the glass of water on the coffee table.

Booth ignored her words and just looked at her, not waiting for her to pick her head up before he started to speak.

"It's normal, how you're feeling right now," he assured her.

"I've seen people die before," she reminded him, picking her head up to look at him, "but this was, different. I don't know why, or how, but it was different. And I'm sorry I came here, because I know, what I said to you before was hurtful," he heard her voice crack and saw her eyes fill up with tears once more, "but I had nowhere else to go."

She knew she could have gone to Hacker, but he wouldn't have understood the way Booth would have. Sure, Hacker worked with the FBI, and had, more than likely, seen people die before, but she just knew that Booth would understand better. He was always there for her in times like this, and she knew it was wrong to use him for comfort, but, then again, it was wrong of him to use her for sex.

"I know, Bones, it's alright," he rubbed her shoulder comfortingly, "it's okay."

Brennan leaned her head against his shoulder, taking a deep breath before she picked the water up off of the coffee table and took a small sip.

"I shouldn't be here," she mumbled, for the second or third time since she'd been at his apartment, "I'm using you right now and it's not fair to either of us. I said I didn't want us to be friends anymore, so I shouldn't break my own rules."

Brennan knew she was being unreasonable by going there, and staying, but when he first opened the door, when she looked at him, she saw her old partner. The one she used to go to the bar with after work, and bicker with in the car, and go undercover with. That was the Seeley Booth she loved. And ever since Hannah came into the picture, that man seemed to disappear.

"Hey, I don't mind being used by you," he half joked, nudging her playfully with his elbow, "you need comforting, I'm here to, comfort."

"Don't you think I should have gone to Hacker for comforting, since that's where I was intending on going anyway?"

"Hacker," Booth laughed bitterly at the mention of his boss' name, "you might as well be going to a watermelon."

"Watermelon?" Brennan furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "I, don't understand."

"Hacker's a doofus," he said, with the shrug of his shoulders, "he wouldn't be able to comfort you the same way I can."

"You're the cockiest bastard I've ever encountered in my life," she shook her head, having to laugh just a little, "and besides, you already admitted last year that Hacker's smarter than you."

"He's smarter than me, but he's not as personable," he attempted to explain, "he's not overly rational like you, and he gets along with people, but he's just," he had to chuckle when he saw the look Brennan was giving him, "he's just a doofus, Bones."

"Are you drunk?" She asked, with a smile, examining the bottle of scotch on the coffee table.

"A little," he admitted.

"Will you remember this in the morning?"

"I'm not _that_ drunk."

"I was kind of hoping you wouldn't," she admitted.

"How come?" Booth asked.

"Because I'm still mad at you, and by coming here, I'm making you believe I'm not," she explained, "I don't forgive you, Booth. I'm not sure if I ever will."

Booth looked at her with a confused expression, feeling slightly hurt when she carried on about how she hated him, and always would.

"Why are you telling me this?" He asked.

"Because you have to know," she responded, "I don't want to lead you on."

"Alright," Booth nodded, "I can live with that."

Without giving him any warning, Brennan grasped his face between her palms and pulled his lips forcefully to hers, barely giving him a chance to recover from her assault before her tongue encouraged his lips apart, slipping carefully into his mouth when it was granted access. Booth's hands weren't quite sure what they wanted to do, alternating between cupping her face, stroking her shoulders, and smoothing her hair down. He knew this was wrong, knew for a fact that Hannah would leave him if she ever found out, but to him, nothing ever felt more right. His mind was pulled out of it's guilty state when Brennan pulled herself into his lap, disconnecting their lips to kiss his chin, then under his jaw line, starting to leave small kisses down the front of his throat. When her fingers slid up the front of his shirt, he decided it was time to say something.

"Bones," he groaned, when her lips reached the last piece of skin that was available to her with his t-shirt on, "I thought you were mad at me?"

Brennan pulled her head up to look at him, only for a split second, before she wrapped her fingers in his hair and pulled his face into the skin of her neck, giving him a not to subtle signal as to what she wanted. Booth complied to her wishes, inhaling her scent deeply before opening his mouth against her skin, drawing a small gasp and a sigh from her.

"Bones," he tried again, mumbling against her skin as she pulled his shirt up to his shoulders, smiling a small smile when he lifted his arms to assist her in removing it, "what are we doing?"

"I don't know what you think," she paused to draw in a deep breath, letting his shirt flutter to the floor beside the couch before she reached for the bottom of her own, having to wait for him to disconnect his lips from her skin for just a second in order to let her pull the shirt over her head, "but I think we're about to engage in sexual intercourse."

"Why?" Booth asked, moving his lips to her jaw bone.

"Because, we're two healthy mammals with primal needs and urges."

"So this is just-"

"A release," she finished for him, tugging on his hair to pull his lips from her skin and look honestly into his eyes, "a simple release. That's all."

"This is wrong," he touched her face with the palm of his hand, feeling his heart rate increase when he saw the look in her lust clouded eyes.

"Your erection seems to think otherwise."

"Bones!" His face grew hot, not expecting those words to just fly out of her mouth, "why am I still surprised when you say things like that?"

Brennan ignored him, slipping her hands down his stomach to pop open the button of his jeans, letting her hands linger there before she went any further.

"I want you to take care of me," she paused when she realized that could have been misinterpreted as her asking him to emotionally take care of her because of what she just saw, "sexually, of course. Would you like me to take care of you?"

"You want me to give you your release?" He asked.

Brennan nodded.

"Give me mine and I'll give you yours," she shrugged, as if things were just that simple, "We can do this for each other whenever we feel it necessary, if you want. It will be a symbiotic relationship."

"Oh, I'm planning on giving you your release," he assured her, "just to show you how much better I am than Hacker. But there's something I want you to do for me first."

"Okay," her voice was slightly wary as she looked at him with curious eyes.

Booth reached into her pocket for her and pulled out her phone, opening it and finding Hacker in her contacts. Brennan went to go grab her phone back, but stopped when he leaned forward to kiss her earlobe softly, causing her to gasp.

"I want you to call Hacker," Brennan shivered when his breath touched her ear, as he whispered to her in a velvety voice, "and tell him you're not going to make it tonight."

"Okay," Brennan agreed, as he dialed the number and held her phone up to her ear for her, continuing his assault on her neck that he never got to finish before, "but I'd have to advise you to stop doing that while I'm trying to talk on the phone."

"That's not going to happen," he told her simply.

Brennan glared down at him.

"Hi, Andrew," she tried her best to hide the desire in her voice when she spoke to Hacker, not wanting to make it known what she was really doing, "something happened at work, and I'm not going to be able to make it to dinner tonight. I'm so sorry, but we still have reservations for our date tomorrow night at seven, right?"

She bit her lip as he spoke through the phone, barely paying attention to his words, since her mind was too busy trying to contain the moan from escaping her lips when Booth nipped gently at the skin on the side of her neck.

"Yes, tomorrow, it's a date," she laughed in a breathy tone, noticing how her voice sounded about three octaves higher than normal, "yes, yes, I'm fine, I must just have bad cellular reception here," her tongue darted out to wet her lips when Hacker spoke, "okay, see you tomorrow then. Bye, Andrew."

She quickly shut her phone and tossed it on to the coffee table as Booth kissed gently down her sternum, stopping when the material of her bra started.

"You know, you make it very difficult to be discreet," she told him.

"Still think Hacker's better than me?" He asked, his fingers trailing down her sides.

"Can't say," she shrugged, "we haven't gotten to the actual sex yet."

"Is that your way of asking me to take you to bed?"

"If you're so good, then why don't you figure it out?"

Booth smirked and picked her up unceremoniously, hearing a small laugh break from her chest as he carried her clumsily to his bedroom, surprised when he didn't receive any objections.

"So, just sex, right?" She asked, once they were in his room, and the door clicked shut behind them.

"Symbiotic relationship," he assured her, "we occasionally fall into bed together, that's all. No strings attached, no need to call each other in the morning."

"Morning? I'm going to leave as soon as we're finished," she reminded him, "I'm not spending the night with you."

"Fine," he looked at her with a mischievous expression, "now are you going to just stand there, or are we going to start benefitting from each other soon?"

"Trust me, I'm about to give you the best no strings attached 'crappy' sex you've ever had in your life," she laughed.

"We'll see about that," Booth smirked, leaning down to capture her lips once more.

* * *

"Wow," Brennan breathed, turning over onto her back to catch her breath.

"That's a good sign," Booth responded to the word, turning his head to look at her, his chest rising and falling with his heavy breaths, "I can see you've had your fair share of hate sex over the years."

"And you haven't?" She chuckled bitterly, rolling her eyes, "Where'd you get your experience? Rebecca?"

"A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell," he told her.

"Gentleman," Brennan laughed again, "I don't believe a gentleman is a great descriptive word to use after that."

Booth furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, softening his tone.

"Hey," he said softly, grabbing her attention from where she was staring up at the ceiling, "did I hurt you?"

Brennan bit her lip and pulled the blanket up to cover herself further, suddenly feeling self conscious. His gentle words just changed what was going on from angry, hate sex to something else, and that made her uncomfortable.

"No," she responded simply, sitting up straight.

She leaned over the side of the bed to pick up her clothes, starting to redress herself, making sure her back was to her ex-partner the entire time.

"Leaving so soon?" He asked, propping himself up on his elbow "Not sticking around for round two?"

"Not tonight," the small smile returned to her lips when he no longer sounded like sweet, protective, Seeley Booth. The one she was in love with, "thank you for the release though."

"I could say the same to you," he smiled when she turned to look over her shoulder at him, "maybe we can make arrangements to do this again sometime."

"Are you saying you want to have an affair?" She mocked surprise, "I thought you were so in love with Hannah that you couldn't leave her?"

"Things between Hannah and I aren't so good right now," he told her, his voice lowering just a bit, "and besides, it's not an affair. It's just sex."

"Right," she agreed, putting her high heels back on her feet, only needing her shirt, which was still in the living room, for her outfit to be completely back on her body, "I'll see you around, I guess."

"Yeah," Booth nodded, sitting up straight when she stood from his bed, "call me if you ever-"

"I will," she responded, knowing exactly what he was going to say before he finished, "I definitely will."

**Like it? Hate it? I was a little nervous as to what you would all think, so tell me, please. =]**


	6. I Wanna Be Bad

**A/N: Thank you all for all the feedback you've been giving. I know some of you are upset with me, 'cause you all think Booth would never cheat on his girlfriend, but, I believe, if it came down to either cheating on his girlfriend, or not having Brennan in his life at all, that would be one of the circumstances when he would. Not that I think it would be easy for him, but I don't think he would ever risk losing Brennan for good.**

**And just incase it's unclear, yes, Brennan and Booth will get 'together' together at some point. I'd never torture you guys by keeping them apart. Hell, I'd never torture _myself_ by keeping them apart. xD**

**So this chapter is basically just some fun. Brennan feeling hot for Booth while she's on a date with Hacker? What's better than that? xD**

Chapter Six

* * *

"_I wanna be bad.  
__You make bad look so good.  
__I've got things on my mind  
__I never thought I would._

_I, I wanna be bad.  
__You make bad feel so good.  
__I'm losing all my cool.  
__I'm about to break the rules.  
__I, I, wanna be bad._"

-"I Wanna Be Bad" by Willa Ford

* * *

"Have I mentioned that you look beautiful tonight?" Hacker asked, smiling a genuine smile at the woman sitting across from him.

"Once or twice," Brennan smiled back, pushing her hair over one shoulder as she took a bite of her salad, "now you're just flattering me."

"Well then, mission accomplished," he smiled again when he heard her laugh lightly, "you know, at first, I didn't think you'd want to spend time together, because I was your partner's boss. I figured Booth would talk you out of it."

"He tried to," Brennan assured him, "he said it would be awkward if I was dating his boss. And then he got really mad when he found out I told you about the egg thing."

"It was all in good fun," Hacker shrugged, "and besides, it's not like you two work together anymore anyway, so there's no weirdness."

"Just one of the perks of not working with Booth anymore," she mumbled, looking up at him with a smile on her face.

Brennan was slightly annoyed when the subject of her ex partner came up, since she'd finally gotten herself to stop thinking about him for about ten minutes before he was brought into the conversation. She wanted to have a nice date with Hacker, but she couldn't help what was on her mind the entire time, and that was Booth. Even though she knew it sounded horrible, she was anxious to go home so she could have sex with him. She knew it was bound to happen, since, even though she'd been on many dates with Hacker in the past, he never made a move. Sadly, now, even if he did make a move, she would probably very subtly reject him. Why would she sleep with Hacker when she had Booth waiting for her back at his apartment? And she felt as if she had to take advantage, because Hannah was only out of town for a little less than a week.

"You two are still bad I guess," he observed.

"I'm very angry with him, and he's learning to accept that. We don't speak anymore."

Technically she wasn't lying. They didn't just hang out and chat the night before.

"So I guess you don't want to talk about him," he told, rather than asked her.

"Do you?"

"No," Hacker smiled charmingly at her, "I'd much rather talk about us."

"Okay," Brennan laughed lightly, "what about us?"

"Well I was thinking-"

Brennan was paying attention to him at first, but was distracted when her phone pinged, signaling that she had a text message. She slipped the cell phone out of her purse, keeping her eyes on Hacker to make it seem like she was still listening, only glancing down for a couple seconds to read the text message quickly.

**What are you wearing?**

Brennan rolled her eyes when she saw who it was from, but had to half smile.

**Don't tease, Booth.**

"Temperance?" Hacker asked, "What do you think?"

"About what?"

"About seeing each other more often," he looked at her curiously, confused as to what she was distracting her.

"Oh, yes, of course. I would like that."

She flipped her phone open under the table again when it vibrated against her leg.

**Who said anything about teasing?**

Another text message came in before she could answer.

**Come over.**

Brennan hoped that Hacker didn't notice her texting under the table like a highschool student, occasionally glancing down at the screen on her phone to make sure she was hitting the right keys. They'd started a conversation about something that she was only paying enough attention to, to make it look like she was engaged by him, and not having a whole different conversation under the table.

**I'm on a date with Hacker. I don't know if I'm going to need you tonight.**

**Hacker? I bet he doesn't even know where your spot is. The one on your neck.**

Blushing, Brennan slammed her phone shut, able to feel red heat prickling under the skin of her cheeks. She couldn't fathom how Booth was able to make her blush from simply bringing up a tiny detail about the night prior. But then again, she'd been thinking about sex with Booth since she stepped out of the house in this low cut black dress and heels. When she was getting dressed, the only thing she could think about was him removing those same clothes she just put on. It was unhealthy, she knew it. The feeling of her phone vibrating against her leg once more cause her to jump slightly.

**What's the matter, Bones? Cat got your tongue?**

**Booth, stop. I'm on a date.**

**End it early.** **Make up some sort of lame excuse.**

**No!**

Brennan was feeling slightly warm as she shut her phone again and turned her attention back to Hacker, who didn't seem to notice she was only half paying attention as he spoke. She mumbled something incoherent under her breath when her phone vibrated again, wishing he would just leave her alone for an hour, until she could get to his apartment.

**I want you.**

Brennan ignored the text, until another came in.

**I want you all the time, Temperance. It's all wrong, but I can't help myself. That dam was broken when we slept together the first time. Now I just want you every second of every damn day.** **You want me too, I know it. You want my hands and my mouth all over you, until you can barely remember your own name, let alone Hacker's.**

**Booth, stop, Hacker's going to notice something's wrong when I start sweating.**

**Then tell Hacker you have to go. I know what you need, Temperance. He doesn't. **

Brennan knew that was true. Booth was the only man she'd ever slept with who knew exactly what she needed, and exactly what she wanted.

"Temperance, are you okay?" Hacker asked, furrowing an eyebrow in confusion at her, "You look a little flushed."

"I'm fine," she promised, laughing awkwardly, "it's just, a little warm in here."

"I actually think it's kind of chilly," he shrugged, "are you sure you're okay? If you're not feeling well, we can just pay the bill and I'll take you home."

"No, I feel fine, honestly," she smiled, taking a sip of the wine in front of her, "why would I want to go home when I could be here spending time with you? That's what you wanted to do, after all. Spend more time together."

"Because I find that I enjoy spending time with you," he smiled, as she took another sip of wine, taking just a little too much into her mouth, "and, I think you're finding that you're enjoying that wine."

Brennan swallowed the red liquid and laughed half heartedly. She looked down at her glass, realizing that she'd drank three quarters of the wine he'd poured for her in only a few minutes. But alcohol was what she needed right now. It was definitely what she needed.

"It's very good, it must have been expensive," she tried, raking her left hand nervously through her brown curls, "I'll pay for it if you want."

"I'm the one taking you out to dinner, I'm not letting you pay for the wine," he laughed, "and you've hardly even touched your salad. Are you sure you feel alright?"

"I feel fine," she assured him, "better than fine, I feel great."

"Because you're spending time with me?" He joked.

"Something like that," Brennan smiled a charming smile, taking a small bite from her salad, just to satisfy him, and get him to stop asking if she was feeling okay.

* * *

"Oh God, you're amazing," Brennan murmured incoherently against her lover's lips, their noses pressed together as their panting breaths filled the room.

"Mhm," he mumbled back to her, "thank you."

"Don't thank me for stating a fact. I wasn't being nice, I was just telling you what you are," she told him, sliding her fingers down his back, closing her eyes when his lips moved over her face, "Booth," she murmured quietly, slightly ashamed, "stop being so gentle."

"How about you stop complaining about my technique?" he teased, "If I'm not mistaken, it was you that came running over here after Hacker couldn't satisfy you."

"Hacker and I only kissed goodnight, it had nothing to do with lack of satisfaction," she informed him, "is it horrible that five minutes after I kissed him goodnight I came here?"

"Kind of," Booth told her, honestly, "but sometimes it's okay to be bad."

"You're only saying that because you're 'being bad' by sleeping with me when you're dating Hannah," she accused, groaning in frustration when he kissed her cheekbone gently, "I'm serious about the gentle thing though. Knock it off, or this isn't going to happen anymore."

Brennan peered up into his eyes when he moved to press his nose back to hers, just looking into her eyes for a few seconds before he pulled away from her, moving from where he was hovering over her to sit up straight, leaning his back against the headboard.

"Someone got touchy all of the sudden," he observed, "what's your problem? So you want to come to me for sex, but it has to be the right kind of sex?"

"I just, don't want it turning into something more than it is, that's all," she whispered, sitting up as well.

"No, of course not," Booth assured her, "physical relationship."

Even though Brennan apparently didn't mind living in denial, Booth was no fool. He knew it was only a matter of time before their 'purely physical, no strings attached' relationship turned into something more. Because, as he always tried to explain to his partner, it can never be 'just sex'. And he especially knew that was true between the two of them. She'd said it herself the morning after the first time.

"Exactly," she half smiled, her head tilting back in pleasure when his lips reconnected with the side of her neck, "you know, I think I'll be able to grow accustom to this arrangement."

"Oh yeah?" Booth teased, kissing the sensitive spot under her earlobe, "Me too."

"And what's strange is that I don't even miss you," she said simply, barely taking notice to how much it stung him when she said that, "I don't miss my partner. I don't miss going out into the field. I'd much rather just have passionate sex when the day's over than spend the day bickering and looking at corpses together."

"You have a sex addiction," he told her, a small smile on his face, as he took her hips gently between his hands to guide her back down, so she was laying on her back once more.

"Sex addicts are called nymphomaniacs," she told him, "and when it comes to yo-_oh_," she breathed out, when he found the sensitive spot on her neck they were discussing when she was on her date with Hacker, "when it comes to you, I feel like one."

"Good to know it's not just me," he murmured against her skin, "please tell me you've been thinking about this all day."

"Ever since I left the house," she assured him, "when I put on that less than comfortable dress, all I could think about was you taking it off me."

"And oh how I enjoyed that," he laughed huskily, pressing his nose back to hers "yanking that stupid side zipper down with my teeth."

"You're impatient," she mumbled, her hands finding their way into his hair "you couldn't get it down with your hands."

"Because it was the size of a molecule," he complained, his hands smoothing gently down her sides, "if it wasn't obvious, my fingers are not too nimble."

"They're probably stiff because of all that shooting you do," she teased, "but, as stiff as they may be, they feel good against my skin," the last part of her sentence was muffled by his lips when they pressed back to hers, causing her to instinctively arch up to press against him, "I'd appreciate if you didn't cut me off while I'm trying to speak."

"You talk a lot," he told her simply, speaking between sloppy kisses, "and, besides, I don't remember talking being part of our agreement."

"I need mental stimulant as well as physical," she murmured, reaching up to touch her tangled and sweaty hair, "and now I need a shower too."

"Don't worry, we'll take care of that a little later," he brushed a lock of hair behind her ear for her, "as soon as I'm done with you here."

"We're not cuddling," she told him simply, wanting to make it clear that cuddling was too intimate for what their relationship was supposed to be.

"I don't believe I ever said we were going to cuddle," he cupped the side of her face gently as she turned her head to press a kiss to his wrist.

Brennan took his hand off of her face and laced their fingers together, letting his other hand travel down her side then back up again, stopping on her shoulder. She saw the twinkle in his eye when their eyes connected, and suddenly felt exposed again.

"So," her voice was lower, her tone indicating her awkward feelings, "how about that shower?"

Before he could respond, Brennan heard the familiar tone of her phone ringing, feeling her lover press his forehead against her shoulder and let out a long, frustrated, sigh.

"You've got to be kidding me," he groaned.

"I'm sure it's not important," she shrugged, "what could be so urgent that someone would have to call at this hour? It's midnight. It's probably just Angela looking to chat."

Booth nodded, his forehead rubbing against her skin when he did so, keeping his face buried in her skin until the high pitched ringing came to a complete stop.

"If it starts ringing again just take that lamp from this here night stand and put me out of my misery," he mumbled into her skin.

"I'd never do that," she assured him, "then I'd have no one to get a release with."

"Thank you, so much," his voice was sarcastic, as he took her hand again, preparing to pull her into the bathroom with him, until ringing filled the room again.

Brennan let out a frustrated huff before she grabbed the phone off the same night stand that contained the lamp he referenced before, flipping it open and pressing it to her ear.

"Bones, what the hell are you doing? That's not-"

"Brennan," she answered the phone.

"Doctor Brennan?" Sweets' voice sounded confused.

"Yes, who else were you expecting?"

"I was actually expecting Booth," he sounded hopelessly lost by this point, "considering, that's who I called."


	7. You're So Damn Hot

**A/N: For those of you who aren't reading my other story and didn't already see my apology, I'm so, so, sorry for taking so long to update. You guys are great, and I don't want you thinking that I forgot about you, because I didn't. This month has just been hectic. **

**And I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but I wanted to save Sweets' in person confrontation for it's own chapter. =]**

Chapter Seven

* * *

"So who's this other guy you've got?

Which other rubes are riding hot-shot, sugar?

I could have swore you said before 'no more, for sure'

What'd I believe you for?

You don't love me at all

But don't think that it bothers me at all

you're a bad-hearted, boy-trap, babydoll

but you're, you're so damn hot."

-"You're So Damn Hot" by Ok Go

* * *

Brennan was fairly sure her heart stopped beating for a few seconds when she realized the phone she had pressed against her ear wasn't her own. How was she supposed to explain this one away? As far as Sweets knew, they weren't speaking. She had Hacker tell him as well.

"Um," Brennan started, glancing over at Booth, who simply shrugged, as if to tell her she was on her own with this one, "oh, well, I was actually bringing some case files over to Booth, since I won't be working on them anymore."

She looked at Booth again, as he simply cocked an eyebrow at her.

"At midnight?" Sweets asked.

"Well I was very busy today, so I had to bring them over late," she lied, biting her lip in anticipation of what he would say next, "did you want to speak to Booth? Because I was just about to leave anyway."

"Either one of you is fine," Sweets sounded confused, but Brennan hoped he would just leave it there, and stop asking questions, "I just wanted to ask if the two of you have completely lost your minds, that's all."

"No, well, I haven't at least. Listen, Doctor Sweets, would you be able to call back at a more convenient time? It's late, I'm about to leave, and Booth is about to go to sleep. We both have work early in the morning tomorrow."

"No, no," Sweets picked up on how she was trying to avoid the conversation immediately, "I'm sure you guys will be fine in the morning. We have to talk about how you two just decided to sever a five year partnership over a little fight. You two fight all the time. I think you're both being a little rash by ending your partnership."

"No offence, Doctor Sweets, but it really isn't any of your business what Booth and I do," she said, not intending to sound as rude as she did, "we don't get along anymore. If we continued to work together it would only be a hindrance on the FBI. I thought you, of all people, would understand that, considering your training."

"Doctor Brennan, I think the three of us need to sit down together and-"

"Listen Sweets, Bones and I don't need you to step in the middle of our fight and teach us how to talk it out," Booth grabbed the phone from his ex partner to scold the psychologist, "we know what we're doing."

"Well obviously you don't because you two ruined your partnership over a misunderstanding," Sweets, oddly enough, didn't feel intimidated by Booth at the moment, "we should discuss what happened, and come up with a solution so you two can get back to working together like you should be."

"Yeah, that's great, now if you don't mind, I'm trying to go to bed."

"But, Booth I wasn't fin-"

Booth closed his phone, mid sentence, and tossed it back onto the night stand next to Brennan's, turning his head to look at her again, seeing her smiling mischievously.

"I thought he'd never stop talking," Booth told her, reaching over to cup the side of her face again.

"Technically he didn't," Brennan reminded him, "you hung up on him when he was in the middle of speaking."

"Tomato, tomahto," he smiled charmingly, tracing his fingers down the side of her neck, "so are you really leaving?"

"No, of course not," she laughed, bracing her hands on his shoulders, "what? Do you think I'm a fool? The middle of the night is when I'm most enthusiastic. And, besides, I still haven't gotten that shower you promised me."

"You know, just a few more hours, and technically you'll have spent the night," he teased, "now that isn't part of our agreement, is it?"

"Well if you don't want me spending the night then you better get to work," she teased back at him, "even though, I think there could be an exception to the rule if we spend the night having passionate, uninhibited, sex."

"I don't know about you, but I have to get up early tomorrow. Not sure how well that would work out."

"You're boring," she teased, "where's the adventurous Seeley Booth I used to know?"

"He left, along with my self respect and conscience," Booth told her, only half kidding.

"Oh, don't start feeling bad now," she rolled her eyes, as he leaned down to kiss her collarbone softly, "at least wait until I leave to start metaphorically drowning yourself in guilt."

"I don't feel guilty," he lied, moving to the center of her chest to give it the same attention, "it's just sex, Temperance."

"Just really, really, great sex," she corrected him playfully, "I've always been a fan of passionate, 'rip each other's clothes off' intercourse."

"That's funny, because I clearly remember you enjoying the first time we slept together, and that was slow and gentle," he reminded her, kissing along the line of her jaw now.

"I enjoyed that, I guess, but I enjoy this more," she lied.

Booth knew she was lying, but didn't press the issue, not wanting to irritate her and start another argument that would only result in her leaving. He simply wrapped his arm instinctively around her shoulders and pulled her close, immediately feeling her hand press to his chest and push him away.

"Stop trying to cuddle with me," she complained.

"Sorry, sorry," he held his hands up in a sarcastic surrender, "force of habit, I guess."

"Most habits are unhealthy," she sat up, pulling her knees to her chest.

"Shut up, please," he rolled his eyes playfully as Brennan glanced at him, wanting to be mad, but winding up chuckling instead.

"Are you going to handcuff me if I don't?" She questioned suggestively.

"I just might," he joked, smiling in the same suggestive way up at her.

"Well then I must comply, because I don't think we have time for that," she glanced over at the clock, "I have to leave soon."

She rolled her eyes playfully when he groaned, covering his eyes with his forearm.

"No," he complained, turning over onto his side and propping himself up on his elbow to look at her, "I thought we were having a good time."

"We were. We are," she assured him, "but, it's late, and I have to go to work tomorrow."

"I know, I know," he groaned in frustration, throwing his arm over his eyes "it's just," he paused, peeking at her from behind his forearm, "this is gonna sound stupid, but, when Hannah's out of town, I get kind of lonely at night. So, I've been liking having you here."

Brennan looked at him with a confused expression. For their relationship being just sex, he certainly was getting just a bit sentimental.

"Booth, if you're asking me to stay the night, I'm going to have to decline," she warned.

"No, of course I'm not," he chuckled half-heartedly, "I don't know. I was just, being stupid, I guess. Forget I said anything."

Brennan smiled with the same half-heartedness and touched his shoulder gently, subtly offering him some comfort, since she knew he was feeling a little self conscious after all that.

"Hey," her voice was low when she grabbed his attention, "let's go take that shower."

* * *

"Do you think it would be better for us to call each other Temperance and Seeley in situations like this?" Brennan asked, running a towel through her hair after she zipped the side of her dress back up, glancing over at the clock to see it was already 2:15.

Booth looked at his partner curiously, opening his dresser drawer to find a pair of sweat pants to sleep in once he put on a fresh pair of boxers, his chest still containing visible droplets of water.

"Why?" He asked, not following where she was going with her question.

"I don't know," Brennan shrugged, "less intimate."

"Don't you think calling each other Temperance and Seeley would make it more intimate?" Booth asked, pausing when he realized that 'intimate' was not exactly the word she was thinking, but the only one she was brave enough to use, "ah, you mean less real."

"I never said that," she said defensively, seeing the look he was giving her, which let her know that he'd figured her out, "I, don't know why you would think that."

"Because, calling me 'Booth' is making it real for you. It's forcing you to face the fact that you're sleeping with your partner, well, ex-partner" he half smiled at her, "if it makes you feel any better, I don't really like the whole Bones and Booth thing in bed either."

"Too real?" Brennan asked, hopefully, grateful that it wasn't just her.

"Too, intimate," he smiled, letting her know, silently, that she was right.

Brennan smiled as well, picking up on the subtle hint as she stepped in front of him to wipe the water off his chest with the corner of the towel she was using on her hair. Booth tousled her damp hair and leaned down to kiss her again, only to feel her pull herself away before she could get too involved.

"Mmm, no," she mumbled against his lips before she pushed herself away from him, "we can't go through that again. I really must get going."

"Temperance," he complained, "we only have tomorrow night, and then Hannah comes back. Can't you stay for another hour?"

Brennan groaned back at him in a whining tone when he pulled her back to him, making it ten times harder for her to say no.

"So once Hannah's back, this is, over?" She asked, pressing a soft kiss to his chest.

"No," he assured her, stroking her hair before he remembered what she said about being affectionate, stopping before she could chew him out for it, "no, of course not. It just won't be as often. I know you live alone, but I can't just go out every night without her getting suspicious."

"We could always grab a hotel on our lunch break," she suggested, moving her hand to grip his shoulder.

"You don't think anyone would get suspicious?"

He couldn't resist running his hands over her sides, unable to resist the way the little black dress defined her curves.

"They wouldn't know where we were," Brennan reminded him, grabbing his wrists to stop his actions, "you need to stop doing that before we wind up having sex again."

"That was kind of the point," he smiled charmingly.

Brennan smiled and rolled her eyes, giving him one last kiss before she stepped away from him for good.

"Goodbye, Seeley," she laughed.

"Bye," he laughed as well, smiling when he saw the way her eyes were almost shimmering at him, "tomorrow night?"

Brennan looked over her shoulder when she went to leave his bedroom.

"It's a date."


	8. Stranger

**A/N: I'm sorry this took so long to update. Having two stories going at once makes it a little hard to keep the updates coming. I try to update them equally, but sometimes I just get on a roll with one, and, I'm sure some of you know how it is...or maybe I'm just crazy. xD Anyway...enjoy? =]**

**And of course, thank you all for the feedback. I just love hearing what you all have to say.**

Chapter Eight

* * *

"_There's no kindness in your eyes_

_The way you look at me, it's just not right_

_And I can tell what's going on this time_

_There's a stranger in my life_

_You're not the person that I once knew._

_Are you scared to let them know it's you?_

_If they could only see you like I do._

_Then they would see a stranger too."_

-"Stranger" by Hilary Duff

* * *

Lance Sweets was no idiot. He knew that for sure. The way that Booth and Brennan sounded on the phone the night prior was no where near normal, and he was not just going to let it slip by unnoticed. When he saw the agent walk through the doors that day, his suspicions of something being not right were confirmed. Lately, Booth had been uptight, sometimes even walking the fine line between cranky, and full blown nasty, but that day, he looked happy, content even. The smile on his face was one hundred percent genuine, and Sweets could swear he even heard him whistling a couple of lines to 'What a Day for a Daydream'.

"Hey, Booth," Sweets called to him, before he could disappear into his office, "do you have a minute?"

"Sure, Sweets," he sounded unusually perky as he met up with the psychologist where he was standing outside his office, "what's up?"

"Well, I just wanted to talk to you about last night," he said, "our phone conversation was little, strange."

"Oh, no, no, no," Booth held up his hand, signaling for him to stop where he was, "just stop right there because I'm not having this conversation with you right now. Nothing is going to ruin my mood today."

"Any particular reason why?" Sweets asked.

"That's really none of your business, Sweets," Booth smiled at the young man.

"Booth, you're keeping me in the dark," Sweets observed, getting increasingly annoyed at his strange behavior, as he motioned for Booth to step inside, closing the door behind them once they were both in his office, "what's going on? You know everything you say to me is confidential."

"Sweets, you know you're my guy, and that I tell you pretty much everything, but this one, I've gotta keep under my hat. It's not because I don't trust you or anything, it's just, this is something that's just me. No one else is getting involved. This is my, thing."

"Thing," Sweets contemplated the word, "is this thing, a good thing?"

"I don't know, Sweets," he responded honestly, since, yes, sleeping with Bones was a good thing, but no, their lack of emotion was not, "it's just, a thing. It's not the best 'thing' in the world, but it's not by any stretch of the imagination a bad 'thing'."

Sweets tried to follow along with what Booth was saying, but wound up getting lost along the way. The way he was skating around specific words and confusing him with his whole, 'it's not a good thing, but it's not a bad thing' speech was becoming frustrating.

"Maybe me, you, and Doctor Brennan should all sit down and talk," Sweets suggested.

"What does Bones have to do with this?" Booth asked, fearing that Sweets realized that this 'thing' wasn't just about him, but was about Brennan too.

"I'm not even going to try and talk to you about this 'thing' you're so happy about anymore," Sweets assured him, "now I'm talking about the issue between you and Doctor Brennan."

Booth laughed bitterly, taking a seat on Sweets' couch.

"There is no issue between me and Bones," he said, his voice having a sort of bitterness to it, "we're not partners anymore, we're not friends anymore, that's all."

"That's all?" Sweets asked, arching an eyebrow curiously, "You and Doctor Brennan have a long history together, and now you're just going to completely cut each other off and act like it's no big deal? Here's the facts, Booth. You're in love with her. She's in love with you. But you're both so scared of how you feel about each other that you won't just give it a shot. And it's tearing you apart. I understand you're with Hannah, and I understand that you care about her. I'm not saying you should break up with her, but you can't just stop working with Doctor Brennan because you can't deal with your feelings for her."

"I don't have 'feelings' for her, Sweets," Booth stood up again, raising his voice just slightly, "don't tell me what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. I don't need you telling me that I'm a coward, and that I'm 'hiding' from my feelings for Bones."

"I never said you were a coward, I just-"

"You never said it, but you were thinking it," Booth accused, "I can't deal with my feelings for Bones? I'm not a teenager with a crush, Sweets. I'm a full grown man, and I already dealt with my feelings for Bones. I asked her to give it a shot last year and she shot me down. It's done. I'm over it. I've been over it since I met Hannah."

"So you're masking your feelings for Doctor Brennan with Hannah?"

Booth couldn't believe that those words just left Sweets' mouth. Did this little, pompous, twelve year old shrink really just try to tell him that Hannah was some sort of cover? That he was using her to pretend he didn't have feelings for Brennan anymore? He took a step closer to the psychologist his eyes seeming to have a burning anger behind them.

"I'm done talking to you about this," he keep his voice low and serious, before stepping away from him and going to leave his office.

When he pulled the door open, practically yanking it off it's hinges, he was surprised when he went to walk forward, and was stopped by another body.

"Sorry," he mumbled the apology half heartedly, only realizing that it was Brennan after he glanced down and saw her looking up at him with an innocent expression, almost mimicking the one she was wearing when she confessed her feelings for him in the car that night, "Bones," his voice was audibly surprised, "hi."

"Hi," she half smiled up at her partner, hoping that Sweets couldn't tell there was anything going on by their body language or anything like that, "you really should watch where you're going."

Booth watched her curiously, having to wonder if she was serious with her last statement, only to have her assure that she was only kidding when her half smile turned into a full one. He chuckled awkwardly as she smiled, her stomach tying into a nervous knot, simply because, for a moment, he was her partner again. This had been the first honest interaction between them since they started sleeping together.

"What are you doing here?" Booth asked, "coming to see Hacker?"

"Actually Sweets said he wanted to speak to me," Brennan told him, looking over at Sweets, who seemed interested in what they were talking about.

"I wanted to talk to both of you," Sweets corrected her, "together."

"Why?" Brennan asked, "we don't need partner's therapy anymore, considering we are no longer partners."

"Which is what I want to talk to you about," he told her, "both of you, please sit down."

Glancing at each other warily, Brennan and Booth both took their normal places on Sweets' couch, the same places they'd been sitting for the past three years.

"So, what's going on, guys? One second you hate each other, and then you're laughing and joking around with each other at the door. I specialize in how the human mind operates, and I'm completely lost."

"We don't hate each other," Brennan said quickly, glancing at Booth to make sure he wasn't getting the wrong idea, thinking he was forgiven, "we aren't speaking, I'm angry at him, but I don't hate him."

"Why is that?" Sweets asked, getting the curious, 'shrink-y' look on his face.

"Why don't I hate Booth?" Brennan asked, completely clueless as to what he actually meant, "Because, even though we're not in a good place right now, we've worked together for over five years. I'm incapable of hating him."

Booth smiled at his ex-partner, relieved to hear the words.

"Aw, thanks, Bones," he smiled charmingly.

"Okay, Doctor Brennan, that's all fine, but I didn't mean why don't you hate Booth," Sweets clarified, "I meant why are you two not on speaking terms. I feel like the two of you are avoiding discussing that particular part of the story, which is the root of all the issues, so, if I'm going to help, I'm going to need to know what happened."

Brennan opened her mouth to speak, looking up at Booth when he cut her off.

"Listen, Sweets, I'm not trying to be a jerk or anything, but neither of us actually asked for your help," he tried to put that as gently as possible, failing to make it sound any better, "I know you're just trying to bring our partnership back together, because it's your job, but, I don't really think this can be salvaged. It's too far gone."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you two seem to be getting along fine right now."

"This isn't really a simple problem, Doctor Sweets," Brennan told him, "it seems like we're fine, because we can tolerate each other, but not enough to work closely together everyday. So, we can be in the same room without fighting, but working together is not an option."

"Don't you think there's a way you can work it out?"

Brennan glanced at Booth, then looked back to Sweets, as if she was unsure of what she wanted to say. She felt bad keeping Sweets in the dark. As much as he annoyed her sometimes, she did like him, and she was afraid he might think they weren't telling him because they didn't trust him. But, on the other hand, she knew that absolutely no one was allowed to know about anything that was going on between them. From her confessing her feelings, to them decided to use each other for sex, the whole thing may have put Sweets into cardiac arrest if she told him.

"Booth, is not the same Booth that he was when I left for Maluku," Brennan told the psychologist, keeping her eyes off of Booth as she spoke, afraid to see what his reaction to her words was going to be, "I thought about him, about us, a lot while I was away, only to be utterly disappointed when I got back to D.C., simply because the Booth I knew seemed to cease to exist. He was cold, and irritable, and I felt as if he was, judging me, all of the sudden."

Sweets and Booth exchanged glances, both having the same appalled expression on their faces.

"Bones, why would possibly you think that?" Booth asked.

"Because Hannah has a significantly smaller amount of flaws than I do," she told him, rubbing her arm nervously, "I felt like I couldn't measure up to her by your standards. I felt like you were so captivated by Hannah that it made me invisible to you."

"It didn't," he promised her.

"Except it did," Brennan was growing increasingly more frustrated with him, "this isn't a matter of perception, Booth. It's apparent that when Hannah came into your life I slowly started to become just another person to you. I'm not 'Bones' anymore, I'm your associate."

"What are you talking about? I still call you Bones."

"Because you've always known me as Bones. It's not the same way you used to."

"Well, I don't know what you want from me. I call you Bones, but not in the way I'm supposed to? I'm not perfect, Bones. You can't expect me to be."

"I don't expect perfection from you, I just expect my partner!" The room was eerily silent when she paused, her own shouting taking her by surprise. She blinked back the few tears that stung her eyes and lowered her voice, "I just expect my partner, not the person I've been seeing for the past couple months."

"I'm still the same person I've always been," he told her, his voice just as low as hers, "just because I'm not in love with you anymore, doesn't mean I'm any different."

Brennan bit the inside of her cheek, holding back the tears that were now dangerously close to coming out. His words hurt her, and he didn't even seem to notice. If he was right about being the same person, he would have realized her hurt her, and apologized. The old Booth would have cared enough to simply apologize.

Without saying a word, she simply picked up her bag from where she set it on the floor and left Sweets office hastily, dabbing at the wetness that had appeared on her cheeks with the sleeve of her jacket. When she left, Sweets just looked at Booth, his mouth slightly agape, having to wonder if what he just saw was all part of an act.

"That was not an effective way of handling your problems," Sweets told him, seeing his friend put his head in his hands, huffing in frustration.

"I can't do anything right anymore," Booth groaned, more frustrated with himself than with Brennan, or Sweets, or anyone else, for that matter "I feel like, in the past couple days, all I've been doing is hurting people."

"Well you did just make Doctor Brennan cry," he pointed out, "I didn't think she cried."

Booth looked at him seriously, his angry eyes seeming to burn right through him, before he stood up silently as well, taking the same route that his ex-partner did only a minute before, leaving Sweets' office. Sweets wasn't sure what he just witnessed, but he knew it was much more than just the two of them not getting along anymore. Something was going on, and he'd get them to tell him one way or another.


	9. Secret Smile

**A/N: Thank you all so much for all your feedback on the last chapter. I know some of you have been upset with me, because there's been no real progression in the B&B relationship, but, trust me, I think you'll all love me a little more after this chapter.**

Chapter Nine

* * *

"_So when you are flying around and around the world_

_and I'm lying lonely._

_I know there's something sacred and free reserved_

_and received by me only._

_Nobody knows it, but you've got a secret smile_

_and you use it only for me._

_Nobody knows it, but you've got a secret smile._"

-"Secret Smile" by Semisonic

* * *

One hand shoved in his pocket, and the other holding the phone to his ear, Booth paced the floor of his living room, listening to the phone ring on the other end of the line. When it went to voicemail for the third time, he decided to actually leave a message.

"Bones, it's me, please call me back when you get this. I really think we should talk about this. You know I didn't mean what I said back in Sweets' office, and I want to make it right. Just, don't shut me out, okay? Call me when you get this."

Brennan erased the message after she listened to it, closing her phone without making any attempt to call him back. She was so upset with him at the moment, that she wasn't sure if she'd be able to talk to him without bursting into tears, and that was the last thing she wanted. The last thing she wanted was for him to see that he'd gotten to her. Even though they both agreed that their relationship was purely physical, and Brennan stressed that to him more often than she actually needed to, it hurt when he said he didn't love her. Simply because that was telling her all the talking he did about how he loved her, but he was in love with Hannah, was all a bunch of lies. She shouldn't have cared if he loved her, she knew she shouldn't have, but, for some reason, that was beyond her control. She cared, whether she wanted to or not.

Huffing lightly, she stood up from where she was sitting on her couch and went into her bedroom, opening her closet and flicking through the clothes hanging on the hangers to find something to wear. Not that it would matter what she was wearing anyway, as long as it was easy to get off. She was feeling slightly ashamed when she took the skirt and plain black blouse out of her closet. Only about two minutes ago she was livid with him, and now she was picking out an outfit to wear to his apartment later when she would go get her release. But she justified it to herself. Angry sex was always good sex anyway, and just because he was being a jerk shouldn't mean that she should have to sacrifice the release she was promised.

But then again, that same release could have been achieved with Hacker. Yes. Maybe she'd do that. Picking up her phone, Brennan dialed his number, waiting a few rings before he picked up the phone.

"Hi, Andrew," she said, sounding as happy as she could at the moment.

"Hiya, Tempe," Hacker was genuinely happy to hear from her, "what's up?"

"We should go somewhere tonight," she suggested, wrapping a lock of hair around her finger.

"Okay," he responded, "where would you like to go, my darling?"

"Wherever you would like to go is fine by me," she shrugged, even though she knew he couldn't see her, "maybe we can rent a movie at your place?"

Hacker heard the suggestive tone in her voice, swallowing the lump that rose in his throat.

"Um, okay," his voice was a few octaves higher than usual, "I'll see you then."

* * *

That night, she waited until one thirty to go to her lover's apartment, wanting to make it seem like she had changed her mind about going to see him, and then changed it back. She couldn't just let him think that he was allowed to treat her like crap and then get to have sex with her that night, even though that was precisely what was happening. This wasn't fair though. She was planning on ditching him, just getting her release with Hacker, but when she went to make a move, he chickened out, giving her a simple peck on the lips and saying goodnight before she left his house. Maybe, she thought, she should invest in a third lover.

Knowing that the door was more than likely unlocked, Brennan twisted the doorknob, glad to see that she was right, and she had easy access to the apartment. All of the lights were off, and the apartment was silent, so she took her heels off at the door to make sure she didn't make a racket, clacking around the silence in high heels, walking the rest of the way to the bedroom in her bare feet.

When she arrived, she nudged the door open a crack, peeking inside to see Booth sleeping soundly, taking the opportunity to slip into the bedroom and shut the door silently behind her, not wasting any time before unzipping her skirt, letting it pool around her feel before she stepped out of it, tugging the blouse over her head right after. Once she was down to only her matching bra and panty set, she climbed into bed with her ex-partner, not hesitating to straddle his waist once she was there, leaning down to claim his lips hungrily. She even made sure to stop back at her apartment before she went to Booth's to change into the purple lingerie that he loved.. Now if that wasn't showing that she was committed to this affair, she didn't know what was. It was only then that he woke up from his peaceful slumber, his lips subconsciously parting under hers.

"Temperance," he groaned in an exhausted, barely audible voice against her lips.

Brennan smirked, pulling her lips away from his. She took his hands and placed them on her waist, silently showing him that she'd gotten rid of her clothes for him already. Booth groaned again, opening his eyes halfway to look at her devious smile.

"What are you doing to me?" He asked, running his hands over her sides.

"I think it's obvious what I'm attempting to do to you," she whispered huskily, "and I'd advise you not to start groaning 'Temperance' when somebody sneaks up on you. I could have just as easily been Hannah."

"I know, when it's you, Bones," he said between kisses, groaning when her lips moved to his neck, "you have a way about you. The way you smell, the way you taste, the way you feel draped over my body."

"Like this?" Brennan asked, leaning down so her hair cascaded around his head like a curtain, preventing him from looking at anything but the beautiful woman above him.

"Exactly like that," he whispered, touching her face gently, quickly catching the affectionate gesture, running his fingers seductively down her neck before she could complain.

Brennan grabbed his face roughly between her hands, yanking it back to hers as she kissed his lips passionately, not willing to let go until she had to gasp for air, leaning her forehead against his while she caught her breath so she could resume the heated kisses as soon as she could breathe again. After repeating that pattern about three times, she finally spoke when their foreheads pressed together, panting breaths filling the room.

"Hacker's a prude," she told him simply, recalling a time when she thought Booth was a prude, silently laughing at the irony, "he barely wants to kiss me."

"That's surprising," Booth told her honestly, "all I want to do is kiss you, and touch you, and make love to you."

"We don't make love," she reminded him, "we have engage in sexual intercourse."

"Okay, word of advice, nothing kills the mood like using words like 'intercourse'."

"Well that's what it is," she shrugged, seeing nothing wrong with her choice of words, as she pushed her hair over one shoulder in an alluring way. She took his hand back in hers and placed them back on her rib cage, nuzzling his temple softly, "I want your hands on me," she whispered seductively into his ear, a smile playing at the corners of her lips.

"Bones, if your goal is to have a dead lover, it's going to happen in about five minutes."

"What did I say about calling me Bones in bed?" She asked rhetorically, leaning away from his face so she could tilt her head slightly back in pleasure when he smoothed his hands over her torso.

"I'm sorry, but you'll always be Bones to me," he told her, honestly, "I'm not going to be able to call you Temperance all the time. It'll slip out every now and then."

"You're not even trying," she complained, arching her back just slightly, placing her hands over his as they stroked her torso slowly, "and you're also wearing entirely too much clothing for what I have planned."

"I think you're capable of fixing that," he told her, a small charm smile on his face as he sat up slightly so his upper body was off the bed enough to have his shirt yanked over his head without any hesitation from the anthropologist, and tossed onto the ground below them. She moved her hands immediately back to his once his shirt was discarded.

Brennan smiled as she admired her lover's toned stomach, taking her hands off of his so she could run her index finger teasingly down the middle of his torso.

"You have the most incredible structure," she whispered, as Booth wondered how only she could make something so squinty sound so incredibly sexy, "you're much more symmetrical than Hacker, but I think I told you that already."

"That's one of those things I don't mind being told twice," Booth laughed in a breathy voice, as Brennan leaned down to kiss his chest softly.

"I love your body," she moaned when she felt one of Booth's hands leave her waist to tangle in her hair, "I love looking at it. I love touching it. I love everything about it. I even love all the scars. It visually informs people that you're battle tested," she paused, when she realized saying she loved his scars was straying away from the sexual side and verging on the sentimental side, quickly covering up her slip of the tongue, "I like my men tough."

"Oh yeah?" He laughed lightly, knowing exactly what she meant by her comment on his scars, but not pressing the issue.

"Yeah," she responded, placing her hand back on the one he still had on her rib cage, sliding it down to her hip so he could feel the fabric of her panties. She looked down into his eyes, noticing even in the dark room how his pupils dilated, "I wore the purple ones," she said in a velvety voice, "just for you."

"They're nice," he told her, stroking her hip gently, "but they'd be nicer if they were off."

"Patience," she reminded him, kissing the base of his throat, nuzzling his skin softly afterwards, just inhaling his scent, "you smell so good," she murmured.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked, tracing the fabric of her bra with his index finger, "you just complimented me three times in the past five minutes. Apparently I'm hot, have the body of a god and smell like Heaven."

Brennan smiled and rolled her eyes, having to laugh.

"There's that smile," Booth smiled as well, tilting her chin up so she could look at him, "don't try to hide it. That smile, right there," he pressed the pad of his finger to her lips, "that's mine. I bet you don't smile at Hacker like that."

Brennan simply ignore his comment, kissing his Adam's apple softly.

"You don't know how many different fantasies I've had of you over the years," she whispered, rubbing her smooth cheek against the stubble on his jaw, the sensation of his beard scratching at her skin evoking a moan from her throat.

"Which one's the most common?" Booth asked, swallowing hard, his eyes squeezed shut as he just listened to the sound of her sultry voice in his ear.

"I can't say for sure," she bit his earlobe gently after she spoke, feeling his chest rumble with a low groan, "there's my kitchen table, the bathroom in the diner," she rattled off just a few of her many fantasies, "and, of course, the one where we play Tie-Me-Up."

"Tie-Me-Up?" Booth questioned, barely able to get the words out, "never pegged you for the type that would like to be tied up."

"There are so many things you don't know about me, Seeley Booth," she ran her tongue gently along the outer shell of his ear after she spoke, working to rid him of his sweat pants at the same time, "are you ready for me?"

"I'm _so_ ready for you, Temperance," he assured her, turning his head as much as he could in their current position to kiss the side of her neck tenderly.

Brennan smiled a satisfied smile, taking his hands again to guide them to the clip on the purple lacy bra she was wearing.

"Would you like to do the honors?" She asked, huskily.

"Mmm," Booth groaned, his less than nimble fingers seeming to struggle with the small clip, "you know I'd love to, but I think maybe we should talk first," Brennan was surprised by his words, her head perking up from where she was lolling it back in pleasure to look at him again, "I mean, weren't we in a huge fight just this afternoon?"

"Weren't we about to have sex about, twenty seconds ago?" She countered.

Booth looked at her, in his favorite purple lingerie, her hair slightly tangled from when he ruffled it just a few minutes prior, her lips cherry red, a pinkish flush on her cheeks, and was unable to say no to her at that moment. If there was one thing that woman possessed, it was sex appeal. To Booth, there was nothing more arousing and satisfying than seeing her leaning over him with tousled hair and kiss swollen lips.

"Fine," it didn't take him long to cave, "we'll talk later."

Brennan smiled again and leaned back down to press her chest against his, capturing his lips in a searing kiss only seconds after he spoke the words.

* * *

Booth's bedroom was silent as Brennan laid on her stomach, resting her cheek comfortably against the pillow under her, facing the wall as opposed to her ex-partner. Booth glanced over at her every now and then from where he was laying on his back, watching the ceiling, having to wonder if she was ever going to say anything, or if she just decided that the sex was enough, and conversation was unnecessary.

"Bones?" He asked, seeing her switch which cheek was resting on the pillow so she could look at him, "did I hurt you or something? Because, if I did, you have to tell me."

"Why do you always feel the need to ask if you hurt me?" Brennan asked, "You're not that strong. I'm a grown woman. You can be a little rough and not have to worry about me."

"Sorry, I won't ask again," he rolled his eyes at how snippy she could be sometimes, turning his attention back to her, "well then, if I didn't hurt you, why are you mad at me?"

"I've been mad at you since this afternoon, I just needed a release."

"So that's what I am now? Just an outlet for your 'releases'?"

Booth immediately caught his words, wishing that he could just rewind and stop himself from blurting that out.

"That's exactly what you are," Brennan's tone was scolding, "I thought we established this already?"

Booth threw his forearm over his eyes, letting out a long sigh.

"You didn't think that was going to change, did you?" Brennan asked, propping herself up on her elbow so she could look down at him

"No, Bones, just drop it, okay?" He pled with her.

"No, Booth, if this is becoming too hard for you, we don't have to keep doing it," she assured him, wanting to make sure that if his feelings for her were coming back, and he couldn't deal with just having casual sex anymore, that he didn't feel obligated.

"It's not," he groaned in frustration, closing his eyes after he removed his arm, "let it go."

"If you say so," Brennan let it go, as he asked, not wanting to start another fight.

She simply stood up, quickly redressing in just her lingerie, and going his dresser drawer to pick out a light blue button down dress shirt, slipping the oversized garment over her shoulders and buttoning it to cover herself. Booth looked at her admirably, keeping his gawking as discreet as possible. But, God, did she look hot dressed in just her bra and panties and his shirt, which fell just long enough to cover the purple material, as if it were made just to be worn by her.

Not even realizing that she was being admired from afar, Brennan left the bedroom and made her way into the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets to find where he kept his coffee. Once she found it she filled up the pot with water, put the coffee grinds in the top of the coffee maker, and flicked the power switch on top to get it started. Only a few minutes after she started the coffee, Brennan heard Booth join her in the kitchen, now dressed back in his t-shirt and sweat pants. He glanced at the clock, seeing that it was already 2:45.

"What are you doing?" Booth asked, covering his mouth when he yawned.

"Making coffee," Brennan responded simply, turning around, offering him the genuine smile that he loved, "there's plenty if you want some."

"Isn't it a little late for coffee?" He asked.

"If I don't have coffee now, I'll never be able to stay awake enough to drive home and not risk getting into some sort of accident," she explained.

Booth was going to suggest that if she didn't think it was safe enough to drive home she could stay with him, but he didn't want to earn himself another scolding, so chose to just shut up and let her do what she wanted. After a few minutes of watching the coffee start to drip into the pot, Brennan turned around to face him again, a concerned look on her face.

"Booth?" She asked, "Am I sexually alluring?"

"What?" Booth was caught off guard by the question, figuring she knew the answer to that already, "Of course you are," he grabbed her gently by the biceps, "I can barely stay away from you."

Brennan looked at the floor in embarrassment.

"Then why doesn't Hacker want to have sex with me?"

Oh, so _that's_ what this was about. Hacker.

"I don't know," Booth responded honestly, "maybe he's just trying to take thing slow. Some people don't want to rush into a physical relationship."

"I've made it very clear that I want to begin a physical relationship with him, and he just, seems disinterested."

"Wait, hold the phone," Booth held up his hand, telling her to stop, "what about you guys having sex in the back of his car and what not?"

"That, may have been a little white lie," Brennan smiled endearingly, quickly setting her expression back to the half upset half concerned one, "but I'm appealing, honestly? I mean, I feel like I am, but Hacker," she paused, "I'm not used to men rejecting me."

"Hey," Booth whispered, moving one hand off her arm to smooth her bangs back, leaving her forehead exposed so he could press a soft kiss to it, "you're beautiful, Bones," he moved his hand again, letting her bangs fall back to their original spot, "don't ever question that."

As much as Brennan wanted to complain, push him away, and tell him to stop being affectionate, she couldn't bring herself to at that very moment. So instead, she just wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled her body into his, embracing him a tight hug, closing her eyes and resting her head against his shoulder when his strong arms wound tightly around her waist. Neither of them thought anything of it at the moment, but it had been their first real, Brennan and Booth hug since Booth came back from Afghanistan, and as much as she hated to admit it, it was one of those things that Brennan missed. Hugging Booth so tightly, in an intimate, but nonsexual gesture, made her feel at home, and she knew if she could, she would have held onto him like that for the rest of the night.


	10. Sweetest Sin: Part 1

**A/N: Hey, look how fast I posted. =D Two in one day is pretty good for me, especially because I'm known to procrastinate. xD So, sadly, I didn't win some of you over with the hug (I tried, okay?) but, hopefully, for those of you that I didn't, this will. Well this, and the next chapter. And by the way, I practically gagged when I had to write Booth/Hannah, so don't get any wrong ideas thinking I enjoyed that. xD**

**And, if you haven't noticed, this chapter will be in two parts because, well, I decided I wanted it to be. =]**

**And, as usual, thank you all so, so, much for the feedback.**

Chapter Ten

* * *

_"Your lips upon my lips,_

_Can you just picture this?_

_Your fingertips on my fingertips._

_Your skin upon my skin, would be the sweetest sin."_

-"Sweetest Sin" by Jessica Simpson

* * *

Brennan was sitting on the couch in her office, just staring unproductively at the wall, knowing, in the back of her mind, that she should probably go do something, considering she was at work. But, for some reason, her mind was somewhere else that day. It was that damn hug. It felt so right, to be in his arms, not feeling obligated to turn it into more because of their 'agreement', but she knew she was just leading him on at that point. As much as she didn't want to, she felt bad for him. She knew this was hard for him, not only cheating on Hannah, but just having a meaningless physical relationship with her, but she continued to use him anyway. That was never what their partnership was about.

But this affair, it could be argued that it was give and take, a symbiotic relationship. She gives to him what he's wanted for years, and he gives her what Hacker can not. But, no, she knew that wasn't true. Sure, he was getting what he wanted, a physical relationship with her, but she knew she was taking much more than she was willing to give. Sex was where she drew the line with the giving aspect. And, with Booth, not only was she taking his morals, helping him cheat on a woman, something he swore he would never do, but she wanted him to love her too. She'd honestly gotten mad at him for an entire day because he said he didn't love her, but if he ever told her he loved her during one of their visit's, she'd, more than likely, leave. A hypocrite. That was what she was.

"Doctor Brennan?" There was a soft tapping on Brennan's door before Cam opened it a crack, pushing it gently the rest of the way, stepping inside. She was just going to see if Brennan was in her office, since she didn't see her anywhere else, but her intentions changed when she saw the look of distress on her associate's face, "Doctor Brennan, are you alright? You look like something's bothering you."

"I'm fine," Brennan lied, shaking her head.

Cam, not buying what she was selling, took a seat next to her on her couch.

"Are you sure?" She asked, "Because, I know I'm your boss, but we're still friends. So if there's something you want to share-"

"No, there's nothing going on," Brennan cut her off, "I'm fine, Doctor Saroyan."

"Alright," Cam still didn't exactly believe her, but knew Brennan was stubborn, and getting information out of her when she didn't want to give it was like pulling teeth, "if you change your mind..."

"I will," Brennan nodded, as Cam stood up and left her office, leaving her alone with her thoughts once again.

Brennan knew there was no way she could tell Cam. There was no way she could tell anyone, for that matter. Booth once said that what was between them was theirs, and this was definitely one of those things that had to remain 'theirs'. Not only would it be a bad idea for people to know, since word spreads fast among friends, but, honestly, Brennan didn't want anyone to know what she'd been doing. She was feeling, ashamed.

And, of course, Hannah was coming back today, meaning that she probably wouldn't see her ex-partner for another month and a half when Hannah had to go cover a story in wherever she went these days. Brennan wouldn't know. She and Hannah hadn't spoken a word to each other since the night she slept with Booth. Even though she had no concrete proof or evidence of it, she was fairly confident that Hannah hated her. And she was okay with that. Ever since Booth left her that morning to go back to Hannah, she hated her as well.

Figuring she should probably get back to work, Brennan simply let out a long sigh, pushing off of her knees and standing up, making her way into limbo, doing what she always did when she couldn't deal with something. Burying herself in limbo cases.

* * *

As much as he hated to admit it, Booth didn't enjoy work anymore. Without Brennan, it had just become boring and tedious. When he drove to question a suspect, there was no one in the car to make clueless comments, and no one for him to bicker with about nonsense. Having Brennan as a lover was all well and good, but he missed having her as a friend too. The only way he'd ever be completely satisfied would be if he could have her as both, which, she already made clear, was never going to happen.

When he opened the door to his apartment, ready to head straight for the refrigerator to get a bottle of beer and a sandwich, and spend his night watching ESPN or some stupid sitcom, he was surprised to see his girlfriend crashed out on the couch, fast asleep, until she heard the door open. Opening her blue eyes, Hannah looked up at her boyfriend, a small smile on her face.

"Hey," she said, her voice quiet and sleepy.

"Hey," Booth smiled, kneeling in front of the couch so they were at eye level, taking her hand to lace their fingers effortlessly together, "have a nice nap?"

Hannah laughed lightly, covering her mouth with her free arm to yawn, immediately bringing the hand she was holding up to her lips to kiss his knuckles softly.

"One minute, I was waiting for you, and the next minute, I was waking up," she laughed.

"Well wait no longer, my love," he smiled, leaning down to kiss her lips softly, "how was your trip, baby?"

"Terrible," she admitted.

"Wanna talk about it?" He asked.

"No, not particularly," she shrugged, gripping her boyfriend's tie in her hand to tug him closer to her, "I can think of a much better way to spend our time."

"Oh?" Booth laughed, taking her face between his hands to stroke her cheeks gently, "I was thinking we could watch a sitcom, or maybe talk about the weather."

"I was thinking something that requires much less clothing," she smiled flirtatiously, pulling him the short distance to connect their lips, letting go of his tie so she was able to thread her fingers through his hair.

Booth knew this feeling well, kissing the woman he loved, only, when she disconnected their lips to look into his eyes and smile, she didn't have that same innocent half smile, and her eyes weren't the right shade of blue, and her hair was entirely too light. Oh God, this couldn't be happening. Right now, he was about to make love to his girlfriend, the woman he chose, and all he wanted at that moment was for the petite blonde to somehow turn into Brennan. That wasn't how this affair was supposed to work. He wasn't supposed to want her when he was with Hannah.

"Seeley?" She asked, when she noticed his mind was elsewhere, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine, perfect," he kissed her cheek softly in assurance, "I just, had a long day at work, that's all."

"Well I hope you're not too tired for me," she smiled, smoothing her hands down his shirt covered chest, "I've been looking forward to this all day. I haven't had any sort of physical contact with a man in almost a week."

"You must be dying," he laughed half heartedly, his mind forcing itself to want her.

_Just look at her, Seel. This is your hot, journalist, girlfriend. You love her._

Hannah's face looked concerned again after she laughed along with him, seeing that he was deep in thought again.

"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" She asked, warily.

"Long day," he reminded her, taking her hand before standing up and tugging her up gently so she was standing as well, "let me take you to bed."

"Oh, you don't know how amazing it feels to hear that," she laughed.

Before he could even start toward the bedroom, the sound of his phone beeping, signaling a text message, broke the silence of the room. He silently thanked God, even though he didn't think God was really trying to help him out with his affair, and opened the phone, seeing that it was just a friendly hello from Jared and Padme. He quickly texted his brother back and closed his phone, putting it back into his suit jacket pocket.

"Duty calls," he felt horrible lying to his girlfriend, but had to get out of there.

Hannah's jaw dropped just slightly, as he took her face back between his hands and kissed the tip of her nose. He loved Hannah, he knew he did, but he didn't want to make love to her. And he knew, if he stayed in that apartment, it was going to happen.

"Now?" She asked, "It's ten o' clock."

"Some new evidence came up," it scared him how easily he was lying to her at the moment, "I have to be there."

"How long will you be gone?" She asked, "I haven't seen you in days."

"I don't know," he told her, the only honest piece of information that came out of his mouth in the entire conversation, "soon, hopefully."

"Alright," she sighed, "I'll see you later then."

"I'm sorry," Booth kissed her cheek before he let go of her face, "soon. I promise."

"Alright," she sighed once again, crossing her arms over her chest, "love you, Seeley."

Booth was already halfway out the door by the time she said the words, but he knew he wasn't far enough out that he could play the whole 'pretending he didn't hear her' card. This was all frustrating for him. His relationship with Hannah was good. He loved her, he'd told her that he loved her and he made love with her, but Brennan had to ruin all of it. She did it on purpose, he just knew it. She made it so he couldn't ever fall in love with another woman. Everybody would be second best to her.

"Yeah, me too," he responded, avoiding saying the words, before closing the door behind him and leaving the apartment.

* * *

_Knock, knock, knock._

Brennan jumped when she heard the frantic pounding on her door, closing the book she was reading and setting it on the coffee table before she went to the door and opened it up. When she saw her ex-partner standing in the doorway, she didn't have to speak, just took a step back into the apartment and let him shut the door behind him. She knew enough to place her hands just slightly in front of her as he leaned in, claiming her lips with his, her hands already in position to clutch the fabric of his shirt gently, letting go only to push his jacket from his shoulders. Only a couple seconds after focusing on her lips, Booth's mouth moved to her cheek, then the line of her jaw, then her neck, leaving little, wet kisses over the skin that laid there.

Brennan didn't say a word, not wanting to ruin the moment, since, she could tell by the look on his face, that he didn't just come because he was bored, but because something was bothering him. She simply cupped the back of his neck, her head lolling back in pleasure as he kissed over her shoulders and clavicle, sliding the strap of her tank top down to her bicep to give himself more space to work with, moving her hair aside to kiss the side of her neck when he was finished for the moment, alternating back and forth. There were a few times she tried to pull his lips back up to hers, but he wasn't cooperating, so she simply let him do as he pleased.

She only took a few steps backwards, leading him towards the couch, her fingers playing absent mindedly with his hair, holding his head close to her skin, her chest rising and falling with heavy breaths by this point. Pulling him onto the couch with her, she allowed him to be in control, not making any attempts to flip them over, just letting him kiss every inch of skin he could find with her still fully clothed.

All of this was seeming to get a bit intimate, but, for some reason, that didn't make Brennan uncomfortable that night. It was the hug. The one, innocent notion that blew this whole plan to hell. The hug made her come undone. Her walls came down, and she wasn't afraid to love him anymore. Well, she was still afraid, but she had come to terms with the fact that she would, no matter what she did. No matter how hard she tried to hide from it, it would always be there, as if it were mocking her. She'd always love him, and he'd always love Hannah, and it killed her.

"Booth?" She finally whispered her first words of the night, feeling his lips slow down on the hollow of her throat in response to her words. She grew slightly impatient when he didn't answer her with words. "Booth?"

"What?" He sounded frustrated, as he rested his forehead against her chest, his breathing almost as heavy as hers, "God, Bones, what? Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?"

Brennan was quiet for a couple seconds, just running her fingers through his hair, holding him close as his breath caressed her skin. Oh, she wanted this, more than words could possibly explain, and she knew he wanted it to. Not just to have sex, the way they had been, but to actually connect, to become one.

"Make love to me."


	11. Sweetest Sin: Part 2

**A/N: Yay, I finally won some of you over =D Hopefully I'm going to win even more of you over now. =] Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the feedback. I love you guys 3**

**Well, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, because, frankly, it was a huge pain in the ass ('scuse my French xD) to write. I actually found myself sighing in relief once I was finished. I'm not really sure why it was such a pain to write, but, at points, I found myself wanting to pull my hair out, erasing and rewriting every other sentence. xD So please tell me how it came out. **

**And, it's pretty long too, so hopefully you all have the attention span to read it. **

Chapter Eleven

* * *

"_Your lips upon my lips,_

_can you envision it?_

_Temptation I could never resist._

_Your skin upon my skin, would be the sweetest sin._

_That would be the sweetest sin._"

-"Sweetest Sin" by Jessica Simpson

* * *

Booth looked down at her when he heard the words, brown eyes meeting blue for only the second time that night, the first being when Brennan opened the door. Brennan looked up at him, her chest heaving as her eyes scanned his, looking for some sort of answer.

"Booth?" She asked again, her voice meeker this time around.

"Bones," Booth shook his head, his eyebrow furrowing in confusion, "do you realize what you just said?"

Brennan nodded confidently, reaching up to ghost her fingers over the line of his jaw.

"Make love to me," she repeated, cutting him off when he opened his mouth to object, "it's okay," she assured him, smoothing the hand she had at the back of his neck down his shoulder blade, "I'm not afraid. You shouldn't be either."

He simply looked at her, unable to speak at the moment, since he wasn't entirely sure what he wanted to say. Of course 'yes', but, he knew that wasn't going to be enough. He couldn't just agree to make love to her without saying _something_, anything.

"You don't have to," Brennan could feel her disappointment growing when he stayed silent, getting the message that he didn't want to, "I know it's going against our agreement, but, I just," she paused, shifting underneath him, all of the sudden, feeling uncomfortable, "I was just, caught up in the moment, I guess."

"Shh," the word fell from his lips in a soft, gentle whisper, his finger coming to her lips to silence her. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, hearing a small whimper from under him. "Just, stop talking, Bones. For five seconds, please, just stop talking."

His tone sounded a mix between frustrated, confused, and lustful. But she knew he wanted her. As conceited as it made her sound, she knew he was never able to resist her. He always wanted her, the same way she always wanted him. She knew the only reason he was frustrated was because she wouldn't stop talking, and the only reason he was confused was because he didn't think that she wanted him the same way he wanted her.

"If you want to-"

"Bones," he half growled, "enough. Do you ever stop?"

Brennan was a little taken back by the harshness of his tone.

"I, don't understand," she said, honestly.

"I just, I need a minute, and you're making that really difficult, because you're always saying something. Just, give me a minute, okay? I need a minute, Bones" he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, cutting her off when she went to speak, unable to control herself, "shh, it's okay. Don't say anything right now."

Brennan was quiet, simply running her hands over his shoulders and arms, giving him the minute he asked her for, his head resting against her chest, his own rising and falling with his erratic breathing. After she figured he had long enough, she finally spoke again.

"I want you," she told him, honestly, no element of seduction to her voice, only truth.

"I know," Booth assured her, kissing the center of her chest gently, "and so do I. You know that. I wouldn't have come here if I didn't."

"But you don't want to make love to me?" She asked.

Seeing that they needed to have a serious discussion, Booth moved himself off of her, sitting up straight on the couch, the way they were meant to be sat on, taking her hands and pulling her up so she was as well.

"Can I be honest with you, Bones?" He asked.

"Always," she assured him, preparing herself for the rejection she knew she was about to receive.

"I would love to make love to you," he assured her, before he went any further, not wanting her self esteem to be damaged any further, "this, reluctance thing, it isn't about you, it's about me. I'm kind of, afraid, that if we make love tonight, either, A, I'm going to disappoint you, or, B, it's going to make things awkward between us."

"We made love already," she reminded him, "the first night we slept together."

"Yeah, I know, Bones, but that was a while ago, and you said it had been a while for you, so maybe now that you've been sexually active again, emotional and gentle just won't cut it for you," he informed her of his fears, "and, I need to make sure you're aware of the emotional strings that come with making love. It's not just sex."

"I'm aware," she assured him, "I'm not a child, Booth. You don't have to explain to me the things that come along with sexual intercourse."

Booth sighed and kissed her cheek gently.

"This could ruin everything," he told her.

"Ruin what?" She asked, not following his logic. She reached up to stroke his cheek gently, her hand finding it's way to the back of his neck, pulling herself close to him, "Honestly, Booth? Everything was ruined long ago. Our partnership, our friendship, it was all ruined after you came back to D.C. with Hannah."

"I know," he admitted quietly, nuzzling her temple softly, "I'm sorry. I screwed everything up, and I'm sorry."

Brennan shook her head, taking her turn to press a finger to his lips and silence him.

"Are you even listening to yourself right now?" She asked, "Do not apologize for moving on and being happy with someone else. I had my chance. You don't have to feel sorry for moving on with your life. It would be incredibly selfish of me to expect you not to."

Booth smiled, feeling just slightly overwhelmed at the moment, her hands stroking over his face as he leaned down to kiss her forehead once more.

"Booth?" She asked, after a few seconds of silence, "Can you make love to me now?"

He laughed lightly, standing up and holding his hand out to her. She accepted it without hesitation, letting him help her up, even though she didn't need the help.

"C' mere," he smiled, pulling her against his chest to hold her tight to his body, not feeling very willing to let her go at the moment, "promise me this is what you want."

"I've never wanted anything more," she told him honestly, pressing her cheek to his chest, "but I'm just curious as to why we can't do it right here."

"Because, I don't want this to be on the couch, or the floor, or against the wall," he told her, honestly, "no talking about fantasies of Tie-Me-Up, no rough grabbing or pulling, or yanking each other's clothes off with our teeth. I want to do this the right way."

"Should I get the candles, rose petals, and Seal records?" She teased.

"Bones, I'm serious," he warned.

"I know, Booth, I was just trying to be amusing," she told him, "although, I really wouldn't mind making love to 'Kiss From a Rose'."

"Maybe some other time," he stroked her hair, gently cupping the side of her face after the third stroke, "mainly because I'm not sure if I can wait long enough for you to find the Seal records and go out to buy roses for rose petals."

Brennan laughed, looking up into his eyes, for the first time in a long time, seeing her actual partner again. She wasn't sure why, but, all of the sudden, she was nervous. Booth, sensing the change in her attitude, leaned down to kiss her temple affectionately again.

"What's up, Bones?" He asked.

Brennan shook her head, taking a deep breath through her nose.

"Are you nervous?" She asked.

"No, not really" Booth admitted, moving to kiss her mandible softly, "it's you, Bones. I'm never nervous with you, about anything. I trust you."

"Does the fact that I'm feeling a little anxiety mean that I don't trust you?" She asked, fearing that his answer would be yes.

"No," Booth had to laugh at her question, "it's normal."

Without responding to his last comment, Brennan loosened the knot in his tie, looking up into his eyes, as if she were seeking approval for her actions. He gave her a simple nod, as if saying 'go ahead', as she finished untying the piece of material and slipped it out of the collar of his shirt. Tossing the tie onto her coffee table, Brennan looked up at him once more.

"Stop looking at me like that," Booth laughed softly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear for her, "it's okay," he paused when he saw the questioning look in her eyes, "is there something you want to ask me? Because now's the time."

Brennan smoothed her hands down the front of his shirt, carefully untucking it from his pants before she spoke.

"Do you love me?" She asked, focusing on the front of his shirt, not daring to make eye contact.

Booth froze, looking down, only to see the top of her head as opposed to her eyes. That was not the question he wanted to hear. Truth be told, he barely knew what love was anymore. With all the talking he'd done about love, one might think he was experienced in that category, but, lately, he came to realize that love wasn't as cut and dry as he always thought it was.

"Bones," he started, warily.

"It's okay," Brennan cut him off, finally looking up at him again, pretending like it was no big deal, even though Booth could see the tiny glint of hurt in her eyes, "you don't have-"

"Yes," Booth was the one to cut her off this time, looking into her eyes when he spoke, "I love you. And not in a strictly professional 'atta girl' kind of way. The real kind."

Brennan blinked, surprised by his sudden change of heart.

"Do you love me too?" He asked.

Brennan swallowed, unsure if she would be able to get the words out.

"I, care about you," she said, avoiding using the three little words, "I really care about you, Seeley."

"Please don't call me Seeley," he practically begged. All the women in his life called him Seeley. Something had to be concrete proof that Brennan was different, even if it was just a simple name, "you care about Booth, not Seeley."

Brennan nodded, understanding where he was coming from.

"Okay," she agreed, unable to argue with his logic. Besides, she didn't like the way it felt calling him Seeley. It made him less of her partner and more of just another man. "May I remove your shirt now?"

"Bones, you don't have to ask before you do something, just, go with the mood, do what feels right," he instructed her, knowing she was new to this, "but, let me take you to bed first before this winds up happening right here."

Brennan glanced down at him when she felt his arms wrap around her waist, preparing to pick her up and carry her into her bedroom.

"Booth, don't," she warned.

Temperance Brennan was not a woman who liked to be manhandled, but Booth decided to pick her up anyway, sliding a hand under her thigh, urging her to wrap it around his waist. He grunted when he lifted her, always forgetting that she was heavier than she looked. She looked tiny, like her arm would snap in half like a toothpick if you touched it, but underneath it all, she was all muscle, and he loved that about her. She wasn't fragile, and he knew that.

"I really hate you sometimes," she mumbled, resting her head against his shoulder, but not making any attempts to escape his hold, letting her legs tighten around his waist.

"Don't even pretend you don't like it when I carry you," he teased, losing focus on what he was supposed to be doing when he felt her lips against his neck, "remember that night on Halloween, Wonder Woman?"

"That was only because I was frightened," she gasped when she felt her back hit the wall.

Booth had grown impatient on their way to her bedroom, not remembering which door lead to their desired destination, so he just gave up, deciding to just press her against the wall for now instead.

"End of the hallway," she reminded him breathlessly, when he pulled her lips away from his neck in order to kiss her collarbone.

He pulled her away from the wall and made his way blindly to the end of the hallway, with the woman of his dreams wrapped around his waist. It was almost surreal what was going on at that moment. Even though nothing had even happened yet, just the thought that he was about to make love to Temperance Brennan, actually make love to her, sent shivers up his spine.

When they reached her bedroom, Booth quickly got her inside, shutting the door behind them and pressing her back against the wall, only letting her legs drop from his waist this time, pressing his forehead against hers. He could hear her breathing become shallow, probably from nerves, and reached up to touch her face gently.

"It's okay," he promised her, assuring her the same way she did to him when she first requested that they make love, "I'm not afraid, you shouldn't be either."

"Hey, that's precisely what I said to you before," she recognized her own words.

"Yeah," he laughed lightly, seeing a small smile come to her lips before her hands moved to start on the buttons of his shirt, "wait, Bones," he put his hands over hers to stop her.

"No," Brennan said, stubbornly, looking up pleadingly into his eyes, "please, Booth. I don't want to wait anymore."

Unable to resist her words, Booth took her face back between his hands, pressing his lips hungrily to hers. Once she had his silent approval, Brennan went back to work on the buttons of his shirt, slipping each of them open carefully, running her fingers over the newly exposed skin when it was revealed. Before she could get the shirt fully open, she felt herself being lifted again, only being brought to her bed this time, as opposed to around the apartment. It was only a short few seconds before she felt herself being lowered to the mattress, clutching the fabric of his half open shirt in her hand to pull him down with her, his lips never leaving hers as she did so.

Feeling his hands move to the hem of her shirt, Brennan moved her hands down to meet his, assisting him in pulling it up and off her body before tossing it to the floor, her fingers immediately moving back to his buttons when she was finished helping. When the shirt was completely open she slipped it off his shoulders and froze, her eyes locked on the one scar that always caught her attention on the top of his chest. She smoothed her thumb over it gently, feeling her eyes well up with tears when she was finally able to give it the attention it deserved, not having to worry about being too affectionate, or making their affair into something more than it was.

"Bones?" He asked, when he saw her eyes shimmer with unshed tears, "Bones, what's the matter?"

Brennan shook her head, leaning down to press a lingering kiss to the scar, pressing her forehead to his shoulder afterwards, letting her breath touch it intimately as she wrapped an arm around his neck to hold herself up.

"I almost lost you then," she finally spoke.

Booth glanced down at the spot she kissed, seeing the scar that was left from when he was shot by Pam Noonan.

"You almost lost me a bunch of times," he joked with her, trying to make lightly of the situation. He knew it wasn't working when her head didn't lift from his shoulder, and she simply continued to stroke his back slowly. "Hey," he whispered, feeling her tears wet his shoulder, "it's okay, Bones," he touched the mark on her arm from where she was stabbed with the syringe only the year prior, softly, "I almost lost you then," he moved his hand to touch the two little marks left from the Gravedigger's stun gun on the back of her neck, "and then. And a million other times. But I didn't, and here we are."

"That bullet was meant for me," she whispered, her voice shaking, "you, you didn't think I cared when you were dead," she finally picked her head up to look at him, "but I did. Honestly, that was the worst week of my life."

"I knew you cared," he promised, wiping her tears away with his thumb, "when you were mad at me for days because I didn't tell you, when you punched me in the face at my own funeral," he saw her laugh half heartedly, "those type of things showed me that you cared. It doesn't matter that you didn't cry at my funeral. Do you understand?"

Brennan nodded, looking down when she felt the hand that wasn't on her face hold gently onto her waist, feeling slightly embarrassed when she realized she was only in a plain bra, no fancy lace or pretty colors.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "I'm not wearing any sexy lingerie or anything."

"That doesn't matter," he promised her, looking into her eyes, to make sure she knew he was serious, "that's not what making love's about."

Brennan nodded once more, gasping lightly when she felt his lips against her neck, making their way down the center of her chest and to her stomach without wasting any time. She arched her back when she felt him kiss over each individual rib on her left side, letting out a soft moan when she felt his tongue trace around her naval.

"Seeley," the word slipped out as a breathy moan, quickly correcting herself, "Booth."

He stopped when he heard the pleading tone of her voice, kissing her bellybutton softly instead. After he quickly got rid of her sweat pants, pushing them off the edge of the bed, he moved to ghost his lips over her hip.

"Oh, Booth" she whispered hoarsely, "s-stop," unable to hear her faint whisper, his mouth continued down, kissing the inside of her thigh softly, able to feel her body tremble, "Booth, stop, please."

That time he heard and picked up his head to look at her, moving up so they were face to face once more.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, unsure of why that upset her, but apologizing just because he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable making love with him, "if you don't want me kissing that low, I won't," he promised.

"No, that's not it," Brennan shook her head quickly, not wanting him to get the wrong idea, "it's just, I had something I wanted to tell you, but I forgot."

He looked at her curiously, not exactly believing her one hundred percent.

"Can you do that thing with your tongue again?" She asked, shamelessly.

She watched him move down her body, his lips not touching any part of her body until he reached her naval, tracing it slowly with his tongue once again.

"That?" He asked.

Brennan nodded, biting down hard on her bottom lip.

"Booth?" She asked again, as he stopped and kissed down to where the fabric of her panties started, going no further before moving back up her torso again.

"Mmm?" He mumbled his response against the skin of her stomach.

"I-I remember what I wanted to tell you," her heart was pounding and she was stuttering over her words when she felt him kissing slowly over her torso.

"Go ahead," he murmured, too caught up in his actions to stop.

God, he could kiss this woman all day.

"I," she paused, taking a deep, shuddering breath, "I-I think, I think I'm f-falling back in love with you."

Booth moved back up her body once more, feeling her hands move down to pull at his belt.

"What?" He asked, unsure if he heard her correctly.

"I, think I'm falling back in love with you," she repeated, "I stopped loving you when you left me, but, I think I might be falling back in love with you."

Booth kissed her mandible, then her earlobe, then her neck, his hands skimming down her waist.

"I know," he admitted, "I can feel it."

"Really?" Brennan asked, feeling exposed all of the sudden, knowing that this man knew her entirely too well.

"Really," he confirmed, looking into her eyes and smiling, "don't be scared though."

"I'm not scared," she promised, unbuttoning his pants slowly, getting them off in only a matter of seconds, "I just, really, really, want you to make love to me now."

Booth smiled again, leaning down to kiss her lips again, his tongue seeking entry into her mouth after just a few seconds. She reached up to touch his chest, her fingertips barely touching him before she felt her hands being grabbed, pinned gently above her head. So, instead of touching him with her hands, since that wasn't an option anymore, she simply arched up into him, longing for more skin contact. After a few more minutes, Booth disconnected their lips, looking at her seriously.

"What?" Brennan asked, nervously, hoping he hadn't changed his mind.

He was quiet for a few seconds, simply studying her features. Then he finally spoke.

"No more waiting."


	12. Manic Monday

**A/N: Thank you guys for all the feedback you've been giving. =] And even thanks to all the lurkers, just for reading. xD **

**I've been on a roll the past couple days with the speedy writing. I don't know why, but, knowing me, it'll probably pass soon. But, anyway, this chapter isn't nearly as intense as the last few have been. I figured we all needed a break from the intensity.**

Chapter Twelve

* * *

"_He tells me in his bedroom voice_

'_Come on, honey, let's go make some noise'._

_Time, it goes so fast_

_when you're having fun_

_It's just another manic Monday._"

-"Manic Monday" by The Bangles

* * *

"Bones?" Brennan could very faintly hear a man's voice through her sleeping state.

For a split second, she was ready to wake up alone, go get ready for work, and stay until Cam and Angela forced her to leave, but then she realized that something was different. Light wasn't streaming through her blinds, and she was able to feel a very warm and alive body under hers, stroking her shoulder blades affectionately before running their hands down her bare back. And then she realized it was Booth.

"Hi," she whispered, her voice low and sleepy as she looked up at him

"Hi," he whispered back, with a small laugh, kissing her hair gently, "did I really tire you out that much?"

"Shut up," Brennan laughed lightly, glancing at the clock to see that not much time had passed since she fell asleep, "and I was getting a nice rest. Why did you wake me up?"

"Because I have to leave soon," he reminded her, watching as she turned over onto her stomach to rest her chin against his chest, looking up at him, "Hannah will get suspicious."

Brennan frowned as he cradled the back of her head, feeling strangely comfortable snuggled up under the several layers of sheets and blankets with her ex-partner.

"Hey," he tried to cheer her up, seeing the distressed look on her face, "I'll see you soon, okay? I'm not leaving forever."

Booth figured she was upset because they just had an amazing night together, and he wasn't even going to stay with her, but she actually had something else on her mind.

"Are you going to have sex with her when you get home?" She asked.

He looked at her with a shocked expression, unsure as to why she would even ask him something like that.

"No, Bones, of course not," he promised her, leaning down to kiss her forehead softly, seeing her wrinkle her nose and recoil slightly from his kiss. When he noticed her reluctance to be affectionate all of the sudden, he sighed, feeling like this was one step forward and two steps back. "Stop, Bren. Don't do this."

His voice trailed when he realized he'd called her Bren, the name she was known by when he was in his coma.

"I'm not going to pretend it doesn't bother me that you're going to go home and share a bed with another woman," she told him, honestly, "you should just be honest with her. Tell her that you're in love with somebody else. You don't have to say it's me."

Booth sighed, taking her hand to intertwine their fingers.

"I'm working on it," he told her, honestly, "I just want to wait. I want to make this as easy as possible for her."

Brennan wasn't going to say anything, but she honestly could care less how Hannah felt at the moment. She wanted Booth to be hers and only hers, feeling possessive all of the sudden. After what happened between them that night, she didn't want to share him anymore. She couldn't stomach the thought of him going home and touching Hannah like that.

"So what are you going to do? Just not have sex with her until you figure out how you want to break up?" Brennan asked, not being a smart ass, just honestly unable to follow his logic, "_that_will make her suspicious. You two share a bed, you probably had a fairly active sex life. If you just stop all together, she'll know something's wrong."

"I'm gonna play it by ear, alright, Bones?"

"I don't know what that means."

"I'm going to take it one step at a time, let things go as they may."

Brennan huffed, moved off of him, and turned onto her side, facing the wall. She was ready to explode from the anger she was holding inside, until she felt soft kisses moving up her shoulder, causing her to relax just slightly.

"That, Booth, is an effective method of getting people to forgive you," she had to laugh lightly, purring when his hand snaked around her waist, tracing small, irregular, shapes on her stomach, "that feels good."

After a few more seconds, he stopped, letting his head rest against her shoulder.

"I really am trying, Bones," he promised her, feeling her nod, her hair brushing against his face when she did, "and I really do love you."

"I know," she assured him.

"No, you don't," his voice was slightly more stern than before, "because the way I'm acting, it isn't showing you that. I know the fact that I won't break up with Hannah is probably giving you doubts," Brennan stayed silent, knowing that was true, "but, I swear, that has nothing to do with you. That's all me. I do love you, Bones, but, I feel something for her too, and I can't just drop everything and leave her. She deserves better than that."

"And you think better than that is cheating on her and skating around breaking up with her?" Brennan asked, "Just avoiding her until you find a suitable way to break her heart?"

"You know, it's when you say things like that, that I get annoyed," the irritation was obvious in his voice, yet, he made no effort to pick his head up from where it was resting against her shoulder of remove his arm from around her waist, "that's not helping. You're not making this any easier."

Brennan closed her eyes, taking the hand he had resting on her stomach to hold it in hers.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, seeing that she was wrong to snap at him, even though, what he was doing to she and Hannah was in fact wrong, "that, was not appropriate of me."

"No, it's fine," he shrugged it off, "I deserved it."

"Yeah," Brennan agreed, "you kind of deserved it."

"That's the part where you're supposed to say 'Oh no, Booth, of course you didn't'," he teased, kissing her shoulder softly.

"I'm not shy about telling the truth. That's something you should know about me by now," she reminded him.

"Hm," he chuckled, feeling Brennan press her back against his chest to feel the vibrations when he spoke, "that's very true."

Brennan shifted when the cold metal of his watch pressed against the warm skin of her stomach, reminding him to glance at the time. Seeing that it was already late, and he really couldn't put off leaving anymore, he kissed the top of her head softly before unwrapping his arms from around her waist and leaning away from her.

"Leaving?" Brennan asked, the disappointment apparent in her voice.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, looking over his shoulder before he went to put his pants back on, seeing that Brennan was watching his back as he did so, "you know I wouldn't if I had the choice."

"I know," Brennan huffed, turning over onto her back, placing her arms behind her head, "the stigmas of having an affair."

"Trust me, Bones, that isn't even close to being the biggest stigma of having an affair," he laughed bitterly, pulling his shirt back over his shoulders before he stood up, leaning down to kiss her head one last time before he left, "I'll see you tomorrow, right? Lunch break? The hotel a few blocks down from the Jeffersonian?"

"That is so dirty," she laughed, the idea of sneaking away on their lunch break to have a quickie exciting her, "are you sure they'll have vacancy?"

"Bones, they're never booked up," he rolled his eyes playfully at her careful planning, "worst comes to worst, we'll play out your fantasy in the diner bathroom."

Brennan blinked, watching as he buttoned up his shirt with an amused smile on his face.

"You're just joking, right?" She asked.

"Maybe," Booth smiled, keeping his answer vague, as he finished up and opened her bedroom door to leave, "tomorrow. Hotel. Lunch break. I'll see you there."

"It's a date," she half smiled, waving to him as he left the her bedroom, and, ultimately, her apartment.

Brennan turned back over onto her side, a small smile still on her face. As much as she knew she should have cared that she was the 'other woman', she didn't, because, not only was she happy being with Booth, but she knew, if anyone was the 'other' woman, it was Hannah.

* * *

It was about eight in the morning when Brennan finally got around to getting up and getting ready for work, and by about nine, she was walking out of her apartment, coffee in hand, making her way to the elevator, where she stood patiently waiting for it. She got a minimal amount of sleep that night, and found herself yawning every few minutes, but she knew she would have picked making love with Booth over sleep any day.

"Temperance?" She heard a voice ask, pulling her out of her thoughts.

She turned around to see her neighbor, Lydia, standing outside her door. Lydia was an older woman, maybe in her early to mid fifties, and she had lived next door to Brennan with her husband for a few years now. The two of them had been the typical neighborly types, always saying hello when they'd see each other, occasionally stopping to talk about the weather, or something going on in another part of the world.

"Hello, Lydia," Brennan turned away from the elevator to smile at her, "nice to see you."

"Yes, you too," Lydia smiled back, "I was actually hoping I'd catch you. Can I steal a few minutes from you before you leave? There's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Sure," Brennan agreed, stepping away from the elevator, even though it had already stopped on her floor and opened, going over to her neighbor's door to meet up with her.

Lydia looked at her neighbor, noticing the dark circles under her eyes and the way she covered her mouth to yawn every few minutes.

"You look exhausted," she observed.

"Yes, I didn't get much sleep last night," Brennan shrugged.

"I think I have an idea of why," Lydia looked at her, having an almost apologetic look on her face, "I didn't get much sleep either."

Brennan looked at her neighbor with a confused expression. How could she possibly know why she didn't get a good sleep the night before? She didn't know about why Lydia was up, but she was kept up for the majority of the night by her partner. Unless Lydia thought there was something in the air that was keeping their floor awake or something, then she wasn't exactly sure what she thought she knew.

"I, don't understand," Brennan tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"Well, dear, I don't mean to embarrass you, but," she could see that her neighbor looked uncomfortable with what she was about to say, "you and your boyfriend, you were a little," she paused, and Brennan could see her face turn a light shade of red, "well, you were a little, noisy last night. I'm not mad, I mean, the walls here are really thin, so it's not your fault, but, I mean, I know you have men over, I've seen them leaving your apartment, but yesterday," she paused again, "well, dear, it was a little too loud. My husband and I couldn't sleep."

Brennan normally wasn't shy or embarrassed about her sex life, but, for some reason, knowing that her neighbors knew what was going on in her apartment the night prior made her want to move away and never come back.

"I'm, so sorry," she apologized, nearly choking on the words, "I-I'll never have him over again. We'll go somewhere else. I'm so sorry we kept you up. I promise, it won't happen again."

"Temperance, I'm not saying you can never have him over again," Lydia laughed lightly, "who am I to stop you from seeing your boyfriend? Just, if you do, all I ask is for you to be conscious of the noise, that's all. No harm done."

"Alright," Brennan was still immensely embarrassed, but tried to keep it under control, "I do apologize for your inconvenience though. I should have been more conscious."

"Nothing to apologize for," she assured her, "it happens to the best of us."

"I've never had to complain to you before," Brennan reminded her.

"Dear, don't worry about it," Lydia laughed, "don't consider it a complaint, I'm just informing you that over here, we just, we know what's going on over there."

"Well, thank you for the, information, then," Brennan rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly with the hand that wasn't holding her coffee, "but I really have to go to work."

"Oh, no, I don't want to keep you from your job," she waved her neighbor off, "have a good day, Temperance."

"You too," Brennan responded, having to wait for the elevator to get to her floor again after she pressed the button, feeling as if it were taking an extra long time that day, simply because she wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

* * *

Booth stood in front of the mirror in the hotel room bathroom in his boxers and his open dress shirt, just staring at himself in the mirror. He looked behind him when he felt a body wrap around his waist from behind, Brennan's cheek pressing against his shoulder blade.

"Is it just me or is this whole sneaking around thing really hot?" He asked, his tone having a lightness to it, as he looked at her through the mirror.

He had to admit, it was a sight. Standing there with Brennan wrapped around his waist, her chin resting on his shoulder, their reflections staring back at them. He hoped she realized how right it looked too, and that this wasn't just all in his head.

Brennan nodded in agreement, her hands roaming over the warm skin of his abdomen.

"Mhm," she agreed, pressing a kiss to his fabric covered back, "I'm just curious as to why you're staring at yourself in the mirror."

"I have sex hair," he told her simply, "the guys at work are going to know that 'lunch' is not really the appropriate word for what went on over this forty five minutes."

"I think you're just paranoid," she ruffled her hands through his hair after he spoke of it, "besides, they'll think you just went home to meet Hannah or something."

"What if she comes by and notices?"

"Okay, now you're really just being paranoid. Relax, Booth, we're being very discreet, if I do say so myself," she thought back to that morning, and the conversation she had with her neighbor, "although, I may have to rearrange my apartment, or move, or just never have you there ever again, at least not at night."

"Um, why?" Booth asked, not following her logic.

"My neighbor had to have a word with me this morning," she told him, seeing his eyebrow furrow in the reflection of the mirror, "apparently we were, vocal."

"Oh," his face grew hot when she shared the information with him, "sorry."

"It was just as much me as it was you," she laughed, "_I_ tend to get vocal."

"I know," Booth laughed, "I was there."

Brennan leaned her head to the side from where her chin was resting on his shoulder, her locks of brown hair brushing against his neck when she did.

"How long until we have to go back?" She asked.

Booth glanced at his watch, adjusting it when he realized the face had gotten misplaced on his wrist from their lust filled romp just a few minutes prior.

"Ten minutes," he told her, hearing her whine in his ear, her eyes shutting in frustration, "what's the matter? Were you hoping for round two?"

"Kind of," she admitted, unwrapping herself from around his waist so she could move to stand next to him, "and I was going to suggest tonight, but you already left home last night, so you probably wouldn't want to in fear that Hannah would get suspicious."

"I'm sorry," he apologized simply, not even bothering to confirm her thoughts, since they both knew it was true, "maybe I'll just tell her that we can't stay together because she doesn't want kids. And, you know, I want a house full."

"Or you could just tell her the truth," Brennan suggested.

"What? 'Sorry, but I'm in love with Bones, thanks for playing though'?"

"Playing?" She asked, "Playing what?"

Booth just sighed and shook his head at how clueless she was sometimes.

"Never mind," he laughed half-heartedly, "I'll think of something, Bones, I promise. And if I can't think of anything, I'll take your advice and tell her the truth."

"You should tell her the truth to begin with," Brennan mumbled.

Neither of them were completely sure why she was so obsessed with him telling Hannah the truth. Booth figured she'd be happy with anything he told her, as long as they were breaking up, but Brennan, for reasons she was unsure of, wanted his girlfriend to know the real reason he was leaving her. Maybe it was her human instinct that she wanted Hannah to know that she was being broken up with for her. She, subconsciously, wanted her to be jealous.

"Two months," Booth said, simply.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Give me two months to get myself together."

"Booth, two months is a very long time."

Brennan chewed on her bottom lip nervously. She didn't want to complain, since he was only asking for two months to prepare to do what may be the hardest thing he'd ever have to do, but she wanted him to herself. She didn't want to wait two months to have him, to not have to sneak around like a couple of teenagers, and she didn't care how selfish it sounded.

"I know," he admitted, "but I need time, Bones. Not because I'm doubting the way I feel about you, but just because, this isn't easy for me."

"I know," Brennan assured him, placing her palm against his bicep to stroke it softly, "I know, Booth."

Booth leaned down to kiss the top of her head wrapping an arm around her shoulder to pull her close.

"I love you," he whispered into her hair.

"I know," Brennan assured him, closing her eyes in serenity, "I know."

"Two months. That's all I'm asking for, and all I'll need."

"Fine," Brennan caved, leaning into his chest, "you have two months to leave Hannah."


	13. What's Left of Me

**A/N: Wow, guys, I'm really sorry I took so long to update this one. I had a terrible case of writer's block, and then, for some reason, something just sparked my muse for this story again (I'm not even sure what xD) but, anyways, I hope you enjoy. **

**Thanks for sticking with me, even though you all probably hate me for taking so long to update. xD**

Chapter Thirteen

* * *

_"Falling faster, barely breathing,  
__give me something to believe in.  
__Tell me it's not all in my head._

_Take what's left of this man, make me whole once again._

_'Cause I want you and I feel you  
__crawling underneath my skin  
__Like a hunger, like a burning  
__to find the place I've never been.  
__Now I'm broken, and I'm faded  
__I'm half the man I thought I would be  
__but you can have what's left of me."_

-"What's Left of Me" by Nick Lachey

* * *

Brennan closed her eyes calmly, attempting to catch her breath, when she felt her lover's lips making their way up her back, stopping when he reached the back of her neck to nibble her earlobe softly, his breath hot against her ear. Brennan could no longer hear the soft music playing in her bedroom, only the quick breathing of the man kissing her. Booth could hear the sharp intake of breath from his ex-partner, taking notice to how she squirmed slightly under him when he took her earlobe gently into his mouth.

"Are you falling asleep on me, baby?" He whispered in a velvety voice in her ear.

Brennan shook her head, making a small "mmm' noise when she did.

"It technically wouldn't be 'falling asleep on you' anyway, because we already engaged in intercourse. Now you're just pushing it."

Booth poked her side, feeling her jerk in response.

"You're an ass" she complained, hearing him laugh in an amused tone in her ear.

Ever since he found that spot on her hip that would make her involuntarily jump when poked hard enough, he did it all the time. She wasn't entirely sure why she was surprised by that though. That was such a Booth thing to do, even though, before they took their relationship from 'just sex' to something more, she was beginning to wonder if she even knew Booth at all.

After he released her earlobe, Booth leaned away from her and picked up the half full glass of wine, taking a sip out of it before offering it to Brennan, who had turned over onto her back and was looking at the ceiling. Silently, Brennan took the glass from his hand and took a sip for herself after she sat up fully.

"Are you trying to get me drunk so I'll forget about Hannah?" She asked, playfully.

"A sip of wine isn't even enough to get an infant drunk," he laughed, taking it from her hand to take another sip, "and the answer to that is no. Besides, I still have another month before I have to break up with Hannah," he paused to take another sip of the wine, "please remind me, when that day comes around, to get really, really, drunk."

"I'll try," she laughed lightly, kissing his bicep tenderly when her hands stroked over it, "and it can't come soon enough. I'm honestly growing very tired of being the other woman."

"Bones, you know you're not the other woman," Booth looked at her with a concerned expression, "I love you."

"I know," Brennan assured him, "but, as much as you want to say I'm not the other woman, I am. She's who you go home to at night. That makes me the other woman."

"I don't want you to feel that way," he touched her shoulder softly, setting the glass of wine back on the night stand.

"Then break up with her," she kept her voice low, not wanting to come on too strong, "frankly, that's the only thing you can do that will make me feel better."

"Hey, I still have another month," he laughed awkwardly, very clearly trying to brighten the mood of the conversation, which had recently become much more serious than he was comfortable with, "you can't start nagging until there's a week left."

"I really don't think it's too much to ask, Booth."

"I know," he sighed, seeing that his playfulness wasn't helping, "it's not too much to ask, I just need you to understand that this isn't easy for me."

Brennan sighed and sat up, picking his shirt up off the floor to button it up over herself, an action that both of them were growing accustom to. She liked being in his clothes and he liked seeing her in them, so it was a win-win situation.

"I've heard it all before, Booth. You've only told me every night since we started this," she rolled her eyes, "you swear you love me, but then talk about how hard it is for you to leave Hannah. I may not be an expert on love, but I know enough to know that when you claim to love someone, you shouldn't have such a hard time leaving the woman you don't seem to love."

"It's not about me, Bones. I don't want to break her heart, that's all. She loves me."

Brennan crossed her arms over her chest, not exactly buying into all the crap he was feeding her about how this 'wasn't about him'.

"Bones," he groaned in frustration, reaching to the floor to grab his colorful boxers and slip them back on before getting out of bed.

Brennan was leaning against her vanity, examining herself in the mirror. She had to wonder what she was doing wrong, why things could never just be easy for her. Things were always complicated in her life, and she found herself wishing that her relationship with Booth could just be a single thing that was easy. But of course, it wasn't. Things with her and Booth had never been easy, and she wasn't expecting that to change so quickly.

"Bones," he tried again, stepping behind her and placing a hand on her shoulder, "hey," he whispered, gripping her shoulders gently to turn her so she was facing him, "can you please just look at me?"

"Why?"

"Because, I'm asking you to," he cupped her face gently between his hands, seeing her gaze travel to the floor, "I love you, Bones, but I'm getting the feeling you don't love me back," he paused, as she looked up at him seriously, "I tell you I love you every time we do this, but, lately, you haven't said it back."

"I know," Brennan admitted, sheepishly.

"So do you?" He asked, wanting an honest answer from her.

"I, don't know," her voice was low, as she grasped his wrists gently to pry his hands off of her face and turned away from him.

"Bones, it's really simple. You either do or you don't."

"I don't know anymore, Booth!" She felt her eyes well up with frustrated tears, turning back to him for only a second before turning back around, her hands balled up in frustrated fists at her sides, "You're, without a doubt, the single most frustrating person I've ever met."

Booth's lips were slightly parted in shock, surprised by her sharpness, looking at her with those big, innocent looking, brown eyes. The ones that made her feel like a horrible person for snapping at him like that, even though, deep down, she knew he deserved it.

"I'm, sorry," he stumbled over his words, unsure of how to respond to her little outburst.

"Sorry for what?" She asked, bitterly.

"Everything!" he was growing frustrated now as well, "I don't know what you want me to say, Temperance. I'm sorry, for everything. Must I go down the list and pick out each individual thing I did wrong?"

"That would be satisfactory, yes," she told him, seriously, "because honestly, Booth, I'm beginning to think that you don't even know what you're doing wrong anymore."

"I know what I'm doing wrong, Bones," he promised her, "I know I'm cheating on Hannah, stringing her along instead of just breaking up with her. I know I'm pissing you off and making you think I don't love you the way I say I do. And the one thing I'm extremely aware of is that I'm hurting everyone around me. I feel like I'm self destructing, Temperance, and anyone who's standing too close is going to get hurt."

"There's a very simple solution to this problem, Booth. Break up with Hannah and you won't have to feel like you're hurting everyone anymore. You won't be hurting her anymore, and you won't be hurting me anymore."

Booth leaned down to kiss her, despite the small sound of protest that left her lips before they touched his, placing one hand on her waist and the other on the side of her face, encouraging her lips apart with his own. Brennan knew she should push him away, tell him that he couldn't just kiss her and expect everything to go away, but she couldn't find the strength to reject him at the moment, especially when he just poured his heart out to her. Once they needed to breath, their lips gently disconnected, and Booth leaned his forehead against hers.

"I love you," he whispered, stroking her hair gently, "I love you, Bones."

"I know," she told him, her voice quiet.

"Say it back," he urged her, smoothing his hand gently down the side of her neck, seeing the reluctance in her eyes.

Brennan shook her head, feeling as if she couldn't squeak out even the word 'no' let alone 'I love you'. Booth let out a long sigh, keeping his forehead pressed to hers, but closing his eyes now.

"It's okay," he said, after what felt, to Brennan, like an eternity, "you don't have to. I'm not going to push it."

"I, want to," she said, reluctantly, "but I don't think I should. Not yet."

"Bones, it's been six years," he had to laugh, his smile loosening her up just a bit, "I think you've had plenty of time to prepare."

Brennan tore her gaze from his eyes and looked down at the floor, chewing on her lip.

"You said you weren't going to push it," she mumbled, her voice barely audible.

"I'm not going to push it," he promised her, "say it when you're ready. If I'm making you wait for me, I can wait for you."

"Not wanting to say I love you and making me stick around as the other woman for another month are completely different," Brennan raised her voice, getting increasingly more annoyed the more they talked, her sudden change in attitude taking him by surprise.

Booth leaned down to give her another reassuring kiss, only to be pushed away before their lips could actually connect. When Brennan had her distance, she tugged at the bottom of the dress shirt she was wearing in aggravation.

"I'm sick of waiting for you. I'm sick of waiting around like some sort of damsel in distress," she told him, finally just pouring out everything she'd wanted to say since they came to this ridiculous two month agreement, "I'm _done_ waiting for you, Booth. There are plenty of other men out there. Be with Hannah, that's what you want. I can move on, I'm just going to need time. I'd rather have to deal with rejection for a short period of time than wait around for somebody who clearly does not want to be with me."

"I don't want to be with Hannah," he huffed, since she obviously wasn't grasping what he was trying to tell her, "I want to be with you."

"Prove it."

"Damn it, Bones!" His voice was sharp, his jaw clenched tight, "You're so pigheaded!"

"I'm pigheaded?" She was shocked by his words, "You're the most stubborn person on the planet! Breaking up with Hannah is a simple task, you just won't do it because you're stubborn."

"I won't do it because I don't want to break her heart, Temperance! What about that is so hard for you to understand?"

Brennan turned back to face him, her eyes filled with rage towards her former partner, so much so, that he felt as if he needed to take a step away from her, but didn't.

"Be a man, Seeley, and do what you have to do," Brennan's voice trailed off, and she just sighed, something finally hitting her for the first time since all of this started, "forget it," she went from shouting to speaking so low that he could barely hear her in just a couple of seconds, "forget it, Booth. Go be with Hannah. I'm done. I can't do this anymore."

"Bones-"

"Don't," she held up her hand and cut him off before he could start, putting it down only so she could start unbuttoning the shirt she had draped over her, "I'm done. Get out, please."

She tossed him his shirt, feeling somewhat exposed standing in the middle of the room in only her bra and underwear, especially after she just kicked him out of her apartment.

"Don't you think you're being a little rash?" He asked, pulling the shirt, which now smelled like Brennan, back over his shoulders.

"I'm not being rash!" Her voice raised again.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Booth was annoyed now as well, unsure of why he was all of the sudden getting yelled at and kicked out of her apartment.

"What's wrong with me?" Brennan asked, rhetorically, laughing a bitter laugh, "You want to know what's wrong with me? I'm tired of the men in my life treating me like something that can be left to the side when they don't feel like dealing with me anymore. Every single man in my life, Booth. Russ, my Father, Michael, Sully, David, you're no different from any of them," Booth looked sincerely hurt when she told him this, "I don't want this man who I'm having a conversation with. I want Booth. I know the real Booth is in there somewhere, but, I don't want to be with you until you can find him."

"I haven't changed, Bones," his voice was pained, "if this isn't who you want, then you don't want me. This is Booth, alright? I don't know why you're trying to convince yourself that I'm a different person now, but if you want to be with me, this is who you're getting."

"If this is who I'm going to get, then I don't want you," she said, coldly, "I don't understand why you refuse to admit that you've changed."

"Ever think maybe this is the real me?" He asked curiously, "Did that thought even ever cross your mind?"

"No," she whispered, unashamedly, "I know you, the real you, and this is not him."

"With everything I've been through, you never considered that maybe I'm just a jerk? Maybe the person you thought you loved was all just a mask?"

Brennan shook her head, unwilling to go along with his little mind game. She was surprised when, instead of getting a rant, or a cold comment, he simply pulled her into a tight hug, burying his face into her shoulder. Reluctantly, she hugged him back, finally seeing a piece of the old Booth she had been referring to.

"Thank you," he whispered into her shoulder, "thank you, Bones."

"For what?" Brennan asked, stroking his hair absentmindedly, "I was only being honest."

"For loving me," he looked up at her with sincerity in his eyes, "for knowing who I really am, even when I act, like this."

Brennan wanted to tell him the word 'love' never left her lips, but decided against it, simply nodding, unsure of how to respond to that. She only closed her eyes when his lips touched hers gently, as if it were their first kiss, her hands moving to cup his face affectionately.

"I love you," he whispered, once their lips separated.

"I," she was so close to saying it back, but refrained, "I know."

And for now, 'I know' was good enough for him, because, even though she wouldn't say she loved him back, the fact that she knew he loved her brought him a sense of relief. Brennan looked into his eyes, moving one hand to the back of his neck before she made the one request he knew was bound to come in a matter of minutes.

"Make love to me," she whispered, her eyes locked onto his, as if he was her lifeline.

"I thought you wanted to stop this?" He finally smiled, his words playful.

Brennan shook her head, remaining serious.

"I never want you to stop," she told him, locking her arms around his neck, a small smile on her face, "ever."


	14. Lost

**A/N: Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. I actually updated. xD I'm sorry I've been a crappy updater lately, I've just had some pretty bad writer's block with this story lately. But, anyway, I'm actually pretty proud of myself, 'cause I updated both of my stories tonight. Hope you enjoy this chapter. And I know it's short, but I just wanted...next chapter, to be it's own. ****Thank you all for being so patient, and for all your feedback. **

**The song for this chapter is actually one of my all-time favorites, and I think the song on a whole sums up Brennan's feelings for Booth pretty nicely. You all should listen to it. It really is a great song.**

Chapter Fourteen

* * *

_"If roses are meant to be red._

_And violets to be blue._

_then why isn't my heart meant for you?_

_My hands are longing to touch you_

_And I can barely breath._

_Starry eyes that make me melt_

_right in front of me."_

-"Lost" by Anouk

* * *

Brennan traced aimless patterns on her lover's arm as she laid with him, her arm draped across his waist as she pressed her chin to his shoulder, able to feel his chest rise and fall with his even breathing, the feeling relaxing her just a little.

"Booth?" She whispered, stopping the small patterns to rub his arm gently with the palm of her hand, "Booth, are you awake?"

"I am now," he laughed lightly, his voice indicating that she had pulled him out of his sleep, "I asked you to wake me up in twenty minutes, not twenty seconds."

"Sorry," she laughed, kissing his shoulder apologetically, "and it has actually been about five minutes, not twenty seconds."

"I know, Bones," he didn't bother explaining the concept of a hyperbole to her, tucking her hair behind her ear for her, "what's up? Why'd you wake me up?"

"I don't know," she admitted, "I just felt like talking, I guess."

"Alright," he shifted slightly so he could look at her, "about what?"

"I don't know," Brennan repeated, touching his cheek with the tips of her fingers, taking a long pause before she spoke again, having to find a topic she wanted to discuss, "why did you start gambling?"

Booth blinked, not expecting that question to pop out of her mouth.

"I, honestly have no idea," he told her, deciding to be open with her.

They had been open with each other their whole friendship. She knew things about him no one else did or ever would

"I was really messed up back then, you know, from the war and everything. I just, needed a way to deal."

"So you turned to gambling?" She asked.

"It was better than ruining myself with drugs or alcohol," he pointed out.

"I guess," Brennan shrugged, "I'm just curious to know, what made it so appealing? Losing all your money, I mean."

"It wasn't about losing the money, Bones. The thing with gambling addictions isn't that you _want_ to lose all your money. It's that, once you lose, you keep trying to win it back. You keep thinking you'll get hot, and you never do."

Brennan nodded, somewhat understanding, even though she had never experienced the feeling first hand. The compulsion to win your money back. She'd gambled before, but when she lost, she just shrugged and walked away.

"Some people wind up gambling their houses away," he told her.

"You never went that far?"

"No," he chuckled lightly, "gambled away my life savings, but never my house."

Brennan traced her fingers over his jaw line, pausing to run her index finger gently down the side of his neck, leaning in to kiss his collarbone once she stopped there.

"Have you ever thought about going back?" She asked, looking back up at him, wrapping an arm around his waist as she spoke.

Booth paused, not feeling entirely comfortable answering that particular question.

"Why are we even talking about this?" He laughed, clearly avoiding discussing his prior addiction any further.

"Because I want to know," Brennan wasn't ready to let him off that easy, "and you're avoiding the question. Have you ever thought about gambling again after you went through the system?"

"The problem with any kind of addiction is that once you stop, it isn't that hard to start up again. People try to make it sound easy, like once you stop, magically, you never have the urge to do it again. But that isn't how it works, at all."

"So, yes?" Brennan asked.

"There have been times when I found myself wanting to gamble, yes," he told her, honestly, "just when I'm upset. Sometimes I just crave that thrill again, but it passes," he stopped when he saw the way she was looking at him, "don't pity me, Bones. It's not a big deal."

"I'm not pitying you," she assured him, "I just, guess, I understand, that's all. I've never had an addiction, and I never really understood them, but, when you explain it, it makes sense."

Booth half smiled, kissing the top of her head.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yes," she laughed softly, "I often understand things I normally wouldn't once you explain."

Booth laughed as well, nuzzling her temple softly.

"Bones?"

"Yes?"

"When I break up with Hannah," he paused, seeing her eyebrows furrow, "I...I want to take things slow."

"Well it's a little late for that now," Brennan had to laugh, "we've already had sex. Multiple times."

"I know," he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "I was just thinking," he paused, feeling idiotic when he saw the look on her face, "hey, just forget it, alright? It's stupid."

"I'm sure it's not. Go ahead. Continue."

"Nah, it's dumb. Really."

"You know I can be relentless, Booth."

"Yes, I know," he had to laugh, deciding to finally share his thoughts with her, "alright, I just, don't think this is how our relationship should have started. It wasn't supposed to be like this, are you following so far?"

Brennan nodded, watching him in concentration.

"Okay," he laughed again, feeling slightly tense, especially when she studied him, as if he was one of her bones laid out on the autopsy table, "once this break up with Hannah thing is official, I want to do it right."

"You mean you want to, court me?" She asked, puzzled.

"Well, when you say it like that it sounds creepy," he laughed awkwardly, "I want to, date you. Like, a real relationship. You know, take you on real dates, hold your hand when we cross the street, open the car door for you, walk you to your door and maybe even kiss you goodnight."

Brennan seemed a combination of amused and touched, leaning in to kiss his lips softly after he spoke, brushing her fingers through his hair.

"I would like that," she said, honestly.

Booth was taken by surprise. He never pinned Brennan as a woman who would like to have a pedestrian relationship, but if she was agreeing, then he wasn't going to complain. Maybe that little sip of wine earlier did make her a little tipsy.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yes," she responded, honestly, "I would like to have a real relationship with you, and you know that. You know I'm the one who's been trying to get you to end it with Hannah for a month now. I feel as if you're the one who doesn't want a relationship."

"No, I do, I promise you, Bones. This is what I want," he quickly caught his words, correcting himself, "I mean, not this, what we're doing now, but 'this' as in what I just explained, with the car doors and the goodnight kisses."

"I knew what you meant," Brennan laughed weakly, "but, I just want to know why you want to take it slow. What is the difference? You could do all of that stuff, but we could still have sex."

"Our relationship right now is all about sex. Our affair was about sex. I just, want to make it about us. Me and you. Brennan and Booth. Nothing physical. It'll be just like it was before, except we're allowed to kiss, and hug each other, and all that good stuff."

Brennan tilted her head curiously.

"But no sex?"

Booth laughed, moving her bangs to kiss her forehead.

"No, no sex," his tone was apologetic, "I mean, yes, eventually, but we're going to take it slow," he paused, but then spoke again before she could, "and, no, slow does not mean a week. Slow means slow. We have sex when we're ready for it."

"Well, we're both 'ready' for it," she reminded him, "we've done it. And we're both two healthy adults who have needs and urges. We aren't virgins, Booth."

"Can you just, go with me on this one?" He smiled charmingly, seeing her eyes light up in admiration, and, even though she would never admit it, a tiny spark of love, "Of course we're ready physically. I meant 'ready' as in emotionally ready. When we have an actual relationship, it's not going to be like this. Sure, I guess you could call this 'making love' but not really. When we make love, when we actually make love, as a couple, when we fall asleep and wake up in each other's arms, it's going to be better than this."

Brennan's eyes shimmered in the light of her bedroom. This man could be so poetic.

"Why?" She asked, dumbstruck by his words.

"Because, that's love, Bones. This, it's lust. _I_ love you, but this is not love."

"That, doesn't make any sense."

Booth sighed, followed by a half-hearted laugh, as he unwrapped his arms from around her and slipped out of bed, starting to get dressed.

"You'll understand soon enough," he promised her.

When he started to redress, Brennan felt her heart drop into her stomach, the way it always did when he was leaving her. The absence of the body next to her made the room feel more cold than it was, and as she watched him prepare to go back to Hannah, she couldn't help but feel an ache in the center of her chest.

"Leaving?" She asked, trying her best to keep her tone light.

"Yeah," he told her, fastening the buttons on his shirt, "but I'll be back."

"Booth, it's late," she was slightly confused by his promise, "you can't come back later."

Once he was dressed again, he leaned down to kiss her head, seeing her eyes close to embrace the feeling. He tapped gently under her chin to urge her to look at him.

"I'll be back later," he promised, not bothering to explain to her, "alright? I promise. I'm coming back tonight."

"Okay," she was slightly confused, but didn't want to stress over it, "I'll see you tonight then."

"Yeah," he kissed her head again, then her cheek, and finally her lips, "I'll see you tonight."


	15. Sorry

**A/N: Okay, okay, I know you probably all hate me for taking so long to update, but ever since Booth and Hannah broke up on the show, my angst muse has abandon me. xD But I'm trying, and even though it took me like, a month to write, I'm finally getting this chapter out to you. Hopefully it makes you all happy.**

Chapter Fifteen

* * *

"_This time I think I'm to blame_

_It's harder to get through the days_

_You get older, and blame turns to shame_

_Cause everything inside, it never comes out right_

_and when I see you cry, it makes me want to die._"

-"Sorry" by Buckcherry

* * *

Hannah Burley was lying awake, looking at the ceiling as she listened to the sounds of cars passing by outside her boyfriend's apartment. He had been so distant lately, and she wasn't sure how much more of it she could take before she called the whole thing off. He seemed like recently he didn't want to be around her, like he'd rather be somewhere else when they were together, and that made her uneasy. Maybe he was one of those men who couldn't be with the same woman for too long before he got bored.

When she heard the front door open, she perked up, unsure as to why she was still happy when he came home, because, when he did, they usually just talked for a few minutes and then went to sleep. And Booth knew she was catching on too. They'd slept together maybe once or twice since this whole affair with Brennan started, and his heart was never in it. Even though technically he was cheating on Hannah with Brennan, it made him feel dirty when he slept with Hannah, like he was doing something wrong.

"Seeley?" He heard his girlfriend's voice, as she appeared in the living room of the apartment in her tank top and sweat pants, her blonde waves falling over her shoulders messily.

"Hey," his voice was weak.

He almost lost the nerve when he looked at her, saw her innocent eyes shining up at him in the moonlight. The way she looked at him made him feel like the scum of the earth. He could still taste Brennan's mouth in his, and he knew he must have smelled like her, considering they made love twice, and when they weren't, she was wearing his shirt. Right then, he wanted to be the coward he had been for the past month and just stay the night with Hannah, not daring to do it, but he knew it was time to 'be a man', as Brennan said. He needed to do this.

"Hannah," he kept his voice low, taking a seat on the couch without turning on the light in the apartment, just allowing it to be lit by the moon and the streetlights outside, "we need to talk."

Reluctantly, Hannah took a seat next to him, somewhere inside, knowing where all of this was going.

"Should I, turn on the light?" She asked, meekly.

Booth shook his head.

"N-No, I, can't really look at you right now," he admitted, his hands starting to shake, and his eyes starting to water.

Hannah felt her eyes sting when she heard the pain in his voice, pressing her palm gently to his thigh. He took a deep sigh, running his hands through his hair.

"You smell like vanilla," she commented, and he could hear the disappointment in her voice, knowing that she knew why he did.

"I know," he whispered, ashamedly, "that's kind of, what I need to talk to you about," his hands were trembling violently by this point as he returned her favor, and put his hand on her thigh as well, "I-I've been, doing some stuff. Some stuff that I'm, really not proud of."

Hannah felt tears build up in her eyes as well.

"I'm sorry," his voice was desperate, as she simply watched him, able to see some tears stain his cheeks in the light of the moon, "I, love her, Hannah. It's the real thing. I wouldn't have done what I did if it wasn't."

Hannah was crying now as well, sniffing every now and then, trying to control herself.

"I knew," she told him, "I knew, I was just, trying to convince myself that I was just being paranoid."

Booth put his head in his hands, his entire body shaking as he attempted to relax himself.

"I shouldn't have done what I did," he told her honestly, "I should have just let you go, the way I'm doing now. God, Hannah, all of this would have been so much easier if I just did that, instead of cheating on you, for a month," he stood up, growing angry with himself, "God! What the hell is wrong with me? I don't cheat, Hannah. I have never cheated on a woman, ever. But this is what Bones does, alright? She makes you do things you normally wouldn't."

Hannah looked up at him innocently, her bright blue eyes crisp and red, her cheeks stained with tears. She knew she should have been a lot angrier about him cheating on her, but she figured, since she subconsciously knew the whole time, the pain was eased a bit.

"I don't know why I did it," his voice was softer and quivering now, "I just, I love her, and I love you, and I couldn't deal with that."

Hannah laughed bitterly, shaking her head as she wiped her tears, only to have them replaced by new ones.

"No," she said, "you don't, Seeley. You don't love me."

Booth kneeled in front of her from where she was sitting on the couch, looking up into her eyes seriously. When blue eyes met brown, Hannah couldn't help but break down again, closing her eyes as her shoulders shook with silent sobs.

"Hannah, baby, I love you, you know that," he whispered, placing a hand gently on her knee, "it's just, with Temperance, it's different," he paused, unsure of how to explain it, "she and I had been dancing around each other for years. And then, after my brain surgery, I fell so stupidly in love with her that I couldn't control it anymore, and I asked her to be with me. After she shot me down, I was so hurt, and-"

"And you used me to ease your pain?" She asked, "You couldn't have Temperance, so you had to settle for second best? Me?"

"No, no, of course not, it's just, the way I love Temperance," he paused, "the way I love her is different. I'm incapable of loving anyone else that way. I do love you, Hannah, and it's not a matter of who I love more or less, it's just, Bones is..."

Booth trailed off, unsure of what was actually so different. He was having trouble explaining it, and he knew it probably sounded to Hannah like he was just trying to cover his own ass, but he honestly wasn't. What was the point of trying to cover his ass now? At this point, he had already screwed up so badly that it wasn't worth trying to fabricate anything that would make it seem better. He cheated. Seeley Booth was now a cheater. The one thing that he never wanted to be.

"I'm sorry I let this go on so long," he spoke again, when he realized that she was not going to, "this whole thing turned into one big mess, and now I'm just trying to clean it up. Start fresh, with everyone. I want you to be happy, Hannah, and that's why I'm letting you go."

Hannah watched him, barely even seeing the man she loved. The only things she felt for this man anymore were disappointment and disgust.

"Well thank you so much, Seeley," her voice was bitterly sarcastic, "you cheat on me for a month, but it's all well, because you're letting me go in order to make me happy," when he opened his mouth to apologize again, she cut him off, "stop. Don't speak. It's my turn now. This may come as a surprise to you, but I was happy with you. I loved you. And this is what you do to me? You cheat on me for a month and then leave me like I'm some sort of cheap whore?"

"Hannah-"

"You've spoken enough," she cut him off, "and, frankly, I don't want to hear it," she put her head in her hands and sighed deeply, "maybe one day, in the future, we can talk about this, but, right now, I'm so humiliated, that I just want to take my things and get out of D.C. as fast as I can."

"I get it," Booth nodded, removing his hand from her knee, "I'll go."

She closed her eyes when they welled back up with tears, knowing exactly where he was going to be going when he left.

"I assume you're spending the night with her," she said, softly.

"Yeah," his voice was soft as well, not wanting to upset her any more than she already was.

Hannah nodded.

"I just wanted to make sure I'll have time to leave before you come back."

"You will," he told her, standing up again, seeing that she was in no mood to converse with him at the moment, for good reasons, "listen," he tried, needing to tell her one last time before she left, "I know you don't believe me, but, I never wanted to hurt you."

"Okay," she responded, flatly.

As he opened the front door, he was going to say something more, but decided against it, knowing it would only make matters worse. What she needed right then was time and space, and he was willing to give it to her, as he left the apartment to head back to Brennan's.

* * *

Brennan was fairly confident, now that it was already two thirty in the morning, that Booth was not coming back. She had a feeling he wouldn't even when he promised her he would. It was too late, and 'Hannah would get suspicious', as he would say.

It was only a few minutes after she fell back asleep that the door to her apartment opened and shut quietly, too silent to disturb her. Booth opened her bedroom door once he was inside, seeing her sleeping soundly stretched out across her bed. Silently, he made his way over to her and sat on the edge of the bed, reaching over to touch her shoulder softly. He heard her make a small noise before she woke up, turning slightly to look at him with sleepy eyes.

"Booth," her voice was sleep ridden when she spoke, "you're back."

"Yeah," he half smiled, not exactly feeling himself after the whole Hannah incident, as he brushed his fingers through her hair, "I'm back."

Brennan smiled back.

"Booth?"

"Yeah?"

She paused before she spoke again, not sure how he would respond to her next words.

"Stay the night with me."

Booth half smiled again, before taking his place next to her, suit and all, wrapping his arms around her waist to cradle her into his chest. Brennan sighed happily as she cuddled up in her partner's arms, feeling him nuzzle her temple softly in her half asleep stage. He was going to tell her that it was over between he and Hannah, that he was hers now, but he didn't want to break the silence, so he simply held her as she slept, eventually falling asleep with her, for the first time in a long time, feeling at peace.


End file.
